Population
Dare County, North Carolina is one of about 3,140 counties and county equivalents in the United States. It has 384 sq. miles in land area and a population density of 78.1 people per square mile. In 2003 the total population of Dare County was estimated to be 33,116 while the population of the entire state of North Carolina was estimated at 8,407,248. In the period from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 its population is estimated to have changed by 10.5% while the state changed by 4.5%. Note that official recorded population counts of the 2000 census are 29,967 and 8,049,313 for the county and state respectively. In the decade prior to the last census (1990 to 2000) Dare County's total population changed by 31.7% while North Carolina changed 21.4%.
Demographics
On the 2000 census, 94.7% of the population reported to be White and 2.7% African-American. Other races tallied; Native American: 0.3%, Asian: 0.4%, and Hawaiian/Pacific Island origin: Z. The Hispanic population (any origin) of Dare County is 2.2%. 4.1% of the county's population spoke a language other than English while at home and foreign-born persons represented 2.5%. Of those that were age 25 and over at the time of the census 88.6% were high school graduates and 27.7% had a college Bachelor's degree or higher. 21.4% were under 18 years old while 13.8% were of retirement age, 65 years old and over. The number of persons reporting a disability was 4,327.
Dare County had 12,690 households in 2000 with a median household income of $42,411 as compared to the North Carolina state-wide median family income of $39,184. The average income per person was $23,614 versus North Carolina's $20,307. Poverty levels for the county and state were 8.0% and 12.3%, respectively.
Home Owners - Real Estate
In 2002 there were 28,484 housing units in Dare County with 8.9% of them in multi-unit structures. The home ownership rate was 74.5% and the median value of an owner-occupied home was $137,200. Across the entire state of North Carolina the the median value of an owner-occupied home was $108,300. In 2002, 1,139 building permits were authorized for home and/or apartment construction.
Business and Jobs
Residents of the county have an average commute time to work of 19.9 minutes. As of 2001 there were 1,729 private, non-farm, payroll-generating businesses in Dare County. The total number of private, non-farm jobs was 12,539 which changed Z in the period between 2000-2001. In 1997 Dare County retail sales were 442,356,000. The total value of manufacturing shipments was NA.