Currituck County, North Carolina

Currituck County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,100. Its county seat is Currituck. The county was formed in 1668 as a precinct of Albemarle County and later gained county status in 1739. The name is "traditionally said to be an indigenous word for wild geese; Coratank." Currituck County is included in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area. It is in the northeastern section of the state and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Currituck Sound, Camden County, Dare County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Currituck Court House, mentioned as early as 1755, was the name of the county seat. Today the words "Court House" have been dropped and only Currituck is used as the community name.

History
Currituck County was created in 1668 from Albemarle County. The largest community is Moyock and the county seat is Currituck.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 526.43 sqmi, of which 261.91 sqmi is land and 264.52 sqmi (50.25%) is water.

Currituck County includes the northern communities of North Carolina's Outer Banks, separated from mainland Currituck County by the Currituck Sound.

National protected areas

 * Currituck National Wildlife Refuge
 * Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State and local protected areas/sites

 * Currituck Banks Estuarine Reserve Dedicated Nature Preserve
 * Currituck Banks Game Land
 * Currituck Banks Reserve
 * Currituck Beach Lighthouse
 * Currituck Outer Banks Preserve Dedicated Nature Preserve
 * Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge (part)
 * Monkey Island
 * North River Game Land (part)
 * Northwest River Marsh Game Land

Major water bodies

 * Albemarle Sound
 * Atlantic Ocean (North Atlantic Ocean)
 * Currituck Sound
 * Intracoastal Waterway
 * North River
 * Northwest River

Adjacent counties

 * City of Chesapeake, Virginia – north
 * City of Virginia Beach, Virginia – north
 * Dare County – south
 * Tyrrell County – southwest
 * Camden County – southwest

Major highways

 * NC Hwy 136
 * NC Hwy 136
 * NC Hwy 136
 * NC Hwy 136

Major infrastructure

 * Currituck County Regional Airport
 * Knotts Island–Currituck Ferry

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 28,100 people, 10,522 households, and 7,467 families residing in the county.

2010 census
At the 2010 census, there were 23,547 people, 6,902 households, and 5,204 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 /mi2. There were 10,687 housing units at an average density of 41 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 90.3% White, 5.8% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 3.0% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

There were 6,902 households, out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 19.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.98.

The age distribution was 25.30% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,822, and the median income for a family was $46,382. Males had a median income of $32,619 versus $22,641 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,908. 10.70% of the population and 8.90% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.10% are under the age of 18 and 8.90% are 65 or older.

Government and politics
Politically Currituck is a typical "Solid South" county. It voted more than eighty percent for every Democratic candidate between 1920 and 1948. Currituck never voted Republican until, after voting for American Independent George Wallace in 1968, turning decisively to Richard Nixon in 1972. Since then, Currituck has become a powerfully Republican county. The last Democrat to carry Currituck has been Jimmy Carter in 1980, and at the 2016 election Hillary Clinton received less than a quarter of the county's vote.

The county is run by elected county commissioners, and Currituck County is a member of the Albemarle Commission regional council of governments. Currituck has recently paced all other counties in growth throughout North Carolina, as commuters from the Hampton Roads metro of Virginia as well as work-from-home employees have flocked to the county. The Currituck County Board of Commissioners placed a moratorium on solar farms in February 2017, but have since rescinded it with two new solar projects in the works as of 2023.

Education
Currituck County Schools are governed by a five-member, elected Board of Education. The following schools are located in the county:
 * Central Elementary School
 * Currituck County High School
 * Currituck County Middle School
 * J.P. Knapp Early College High School
 * Jarvisburg Elementary School
 * Knotts Island Elementary School
 * Moyock Elementary School
 * Moyock Middle School
 * Shawboro Elementary School
 * W.T. Griggs Elementary School
 * Jarvisburg Christian Academy

Census-designated places

 * Moyock (largest community)
 * Coinjock
 * Grandy

Townships

 * Crawford
 * Fruitville
 * Moyock
 * Poplar Branch

Other unincorporated communities

 * Aydlett
 * Barco
 * Carova Beach
 * Corolla
 * Currituck (county seat)
 * Gibbs Woods
 * Grandy
 * Gregory
 * Harbinger
 * Knotts Island
 * Jarvisburg
 * Mamie
 * Maple
 * North Swan Beach
 * Point Harbor
 * Poplar Beach
 * Poplar Branch
 * Powells Point
 * Swan Beach
 * Shawboro
 * Sligo
 * Spot
 * Waterlily

Notable people

 * Dennis Anderson, former driver, and creator, of the Grave Digger monster truck
 * Linda Carter Brinson, American journalist
 * Macon Brock, founder of Dollar Tree had a beach house in the Corolla community
 * Richard Thurmond Chatham, once owned the hunt club Dews Island in Jarvisburg
 * Emerson Etheridge, congressman and Southern Unionist
 * John Gibbs, leader of colonial rebellion, Gibbs Rebellion, and name sake of Gibbs Woods, NC
 * Thomas Jarvis, Colonial Governor of North Carolina
 * Thomas Jordan Jarvis, Governor of North Carolina
 * Joseph P. Knapp, publisher, philanthropist and namesake of the J.P. Knapp Early College High School
 * Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice, had a beach house in the Corolla community
 * Henry Marchmore Shaw, Congressman and Confederate officer