Town · Dare County, North Carolina

Southern Shores, North Carolina

Southern Shores is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, part of the Kill Devil Hills, NC metro area. It has 3,139 residents. Southern Shores, North Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 84 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,491 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within North Carolina it ranks #39 of 458 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), poverty rate (low) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), rent as share of income (high) and unemployment rate (high).

84Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,491 of 15,651 cities and towns
North Carolina: #39 of 458 in NC
Population: 3,139 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 795.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3763130

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety34#10,314/15,637
Economy77#3,547/15,631
Housing30#10,530/14,977
Health77#3,646/15,609
Healthcare56#6,852/15,650
Environment84#2,398/15,453
Education92#1,254/15,649
Infrastructure75#3,880/15,650
Community86#2,127/15,651
Leisure & amenities100#50/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Southern Shores, North Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dare County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Restaurants and bars · high33.5 /10k
100/100North Carolina 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDare County value
Poverty rate · low0.6%
100/100North Carolina 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Grocery stores · high5.0 /10k
99/100North Carolina 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDare County value
Pharmacies · high3.7 /10k
99/100North Carolina 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDare County value
Voter turnout · high84.3%
99/100North Carolina 72.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionDare County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high18.6 /10k
98/100North Carolina 4.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDare County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high99.8
0/100North Carolina 45.12025Federal Emergency Management AgencyDare County value
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100North Carolina 29.5%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Unemployment rate · high13.3%
4/100North Carolina 3.8%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Average weekly wage · low$937
9/100North Carolina $1,376United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDare County value
Homicide rate · high8.2 /100k
13/100North Carolina 6.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataDare County value
Drug overdose deaths · high26.2 /100k
15/100North Carolina 20.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDare County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
2,899 (2015-2019) → 3,139 (2020-2024)
+8.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
13.2% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
8.5 /1k (2021) → 2.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−66%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.6% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
76.7% (2015-2019) → 89.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
39.7% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Southern Shores, North Carolina improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Inequality−0.1110.446 → 0.334
Household income+36%$96,553 → $131,429

Declined1

Rent / income+11 points39.7% → 51.0%

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Southern Shores, North Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.0 min2015-2019	24.6 min2020-2024	+1.6 min	Within the margin of error	31%
Bachelor's degree or higher	60.7%2015-2019	59.1%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Broadband subscriptions	97.4%2015-2019	98.5%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Effective property tax rate	0.59%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
High school diploma or higher	98.0%2015-2019	99.0%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	4.8×2015-2019	5.4×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4462015-2019	0.3342020-2024	−0.111	Improved	97%
Median household income	$96,5532015-2019	$131,4292020-2024	+36%	Improved	67%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	39.7%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	8%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Southern Shores, North Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Southern Shores, North Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Southern Shores, North Carolina itself moved +5.4 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

3,139 residents (±15)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (+6.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,139 residents (±15)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

White96%3,026
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.2%†7

Education

2,609 residents (±156)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

No high school diploma1.0%†25
High school or GED20%†524
Some college

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,306 households (±117)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $25k5.1%†66
$25k–50k5.3%†69
$50k–75k8.0%†105
$75k–100k14%†184
$100k–150k23%†297
$150k–200k21%†271
$200k or more24%†314

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $50k–75k (−10.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,306 households (±117)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Own91%1,193
Rent8.7%†113

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

73 households (±56)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00051%†37
$1,000–1,5009.6%†7

Home values

1,193 homes (±110)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under $150k0.8%†9
$150k–250k0.6%†7
$250k–400k4.2%†

Age of homes

2,544 homes (±216)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

2010 or later5.3%†134
2000–200919%†490
1980–199957%1,441

Size of homes

2,544 homes (±216)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms2.0%†50

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,369 workers (±200)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Drive alone70%965
Carpool4.1%†56
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike1.5%†21
Work from home24%†327
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+10.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,042 workers (±183)

Southern Shores, North Carolina
North Carolina share

Under 15 min26%†267
15–29 min37%†385
30–44 min27%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Kill Devil Hills, NC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Dare County, the county holding most of Southern Shores's residents.

Dare County has 2,079 employer establishments, 545 for every 10,000 residents (2.19× the US rate of 248; 2.29× North Carolina's), with 16,320 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,351. The Census Bureau also counts 6,123 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,079; 6,123 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 545; US 248 · North Carolina 237
Paid employees: 16,320
Average annual pay: $45,351; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Dare County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	261	68.4	3.73×More than typical	3,636	$35,425	26
Lessors of real estate	156	40.9	3.32×More than typical	1,636	$52,948	1,077
Specialty trade contractors	156	40.9	2.64×More than typical	791	$52,997	617
Full-service restaurants	135	35.4	4.61×More than typical	2,376	$39,770	13
Construction of buildings	113	29.6	3.92×More than typical	355	$57,854	410
Services to buildings and dwellings	89	23.3	3.46×More than typical	365	$52,260	612
Ambulatory health care services	83	21.8	1.04×About typical	380	$99,605	149
Real estate agents and brokers	80	21	4.31×More than typical	458	$63,924	311
Building equipment contractors	76	19.9	3.31×More than typical	418	$54,024	86
Clothing and accessories stores	73	19.1	5.27×More than typical	469	$28,642	34
Limited-service restaurants	71	18.6	2.32×More than typical	737	$28,798	6
Traveler accommodation	62	16.3	9.00×More than typical	1,077	$32,273	56

Rank places for an industry Open Dare County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 38,150 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $7,802 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Southern Shores, North Carolina: $2.49 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $7,802; −99% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.49; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; US 8.7%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$7,802100%

Top recipients

COASTAL ENGINEERING & SURVEYING INC$7,802100%

Spending by fiscal year

83KFY2017
130.6KFY2018
332KFY2019
994.8KFY2020
92.5KFY2021
49.1KFY2022
81.4KFY2023
132.3K

Top industries (NAICS)

Facilities support services · 5612$7,802100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Southern Shores, North Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Southern Shores, North Carolina's figures are part of those of Dare County, NC ($41.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Southern Shores is mostly in Dare County.

See federal money in Dare County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Southern Shores, North Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Gregory F. MurphyR-NC-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 12.9%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Dare County86100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kill Devil Hills, NC91

Other cities and towns in Dare County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3763130

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends