Welcome to Nags Head ...

The coastal town of Nags Head is located on Bodie Island (in the North Carolina Outer Banks).

Nags Head is located in Dare County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Nags Head, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Nags Head has a population of 2,987 people<2> (see below for details).

The community of Nags Head is near sea level<3>.

Time Zone: Nags Head lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Nags Head is within the boundaries of the (252) area code.

The ZIP code for Nags Head: 27959<4>

Websites for Nags Head ...

Official Website: www.townofnagshead.net/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Nags Head had an population of 2,987 people. This is an increase of 8.34% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 10.63% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Nags Head had a population of 2,757 people (which is 8.13% of the total population of Dare County). This makes Nags Head the county's 3rd most populous community.

The population of Nags Head represents 0.03% of the total population of North Carolina (which has 9,535,483 people), making it the state's 214th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 2,757 people, the population of Nags Head increased 2.11% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 2,700 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Nags Head.

Communities near Nags Head ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Nags Head.

• Kill Devil Hills
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kill Devil Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kill Devil Hills
  • Kill Devil Hills is located in Dare County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,413 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kill Devil Hills <6>
• Kitty Hawk
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kitty Hawk have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitty Hawk
  • Kitty Hawk is located in Dare County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,598 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kitty Hawk <6>
• Southern Shores
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southern Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern Shores
  • Southern Shores is located in Dare County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,997 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Southern Shores <6>
• Duck
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duck have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duck
  • Duck is located in Dare County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duck <6>
• Fort Raleigh City
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Raleigh City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Raleigh City
  • Fort Raleigh City is located in Dare County
• Wanchese
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wanchese have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wanchese
  • Wanchese is located in Dare County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wanchese <6>
• Manns Harbor
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manns Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manns Harbor
  • Manns Harbor is located in Dare County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manns Harbor <6>
• Point Harbor
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Point Harbor have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Harbor
  • Point Harbor is located in Currituck County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Harbor <6>
• Harbinger
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harbinger have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbinger
  • Harbinger is located in Currituck County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harbinger <6>
• George Town Sands
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for George Town Sands have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George Town Sands
  • George Town Sands is located in Dare County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Nags Head. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Nags Head.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Nags Head. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nags Head.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Nags Head. See our Newspapers Page for Nags Head.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Nags Head ...

Looking for more information about Nags Head? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Nags Head, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Nags Head.

Adding Nags Head to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Nags Head in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Nags Head was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Nags Head.

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Nags Head: www.townofnagshead.net/

The official website for Dare County: www.co.dare.nc.us/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/