County Maps US

Dare County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 66 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37055

Within North Carolina
Dare County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Manteo, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
38,245
+1,209 (+3.3%) since 2020
Land area
383.2
square miles. A further 75.1% of the total area is water
Population density
99.8
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Manteo
Seat of county government.
Established
1870
155 years ago
Largest city
Kill Devil Hills town
Population 7,731.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Dare County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Dare County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 395 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Dare County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population38,24566th of 1001,229th of 3,144
Land area383.2 sq mi68th of 1002,591st of 3,144
Population density99.8 per sq mi58th of 100922nd of 3,144
Median household income$88,9948th of 100330th of 3,143

Full data for Dare County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population38,245Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202037,036Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?36,914Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area383.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area1,159 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,542 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?99.8 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$88,994American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$460,400American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age49.0American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households16,836American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units35,278American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-127
295 births, 422 deaths
Net migration
+145
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 3 areas bordering Dare County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Hyde CountyNorth Carolina46 mi4,554
Tyrrell CountyNorth Carolina30 mi3,537
Currituck CountyNorth Carolina23 mi33,158

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.