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Harkers Island, NC

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Harkers Island is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 1,127 people and just one neighborhood, Harkers Island is the 390th largest community in North Carolina.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some towns, Harkers Island isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Harkers Island are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Harkers Island is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and construction workers and builders. There are especially a lot of people living in Harkers Island who work in art, media, and design (19.35%), sales jobs (14.29%), and office and administrative support (5.76%).

Of important note, Harkers Island is also a town of artists. Harkers Island has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Harkers Island’s character.

Also of interest is that Harkers Island has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Harkers Island is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Harkers Island’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Harkers Island has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Harkers Island has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Harkers Island than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Harkers Island may be for you.

Harkers Island is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

In Harkers Island, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 30.22 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average.

Demographics

The education level of Harkers Island citizens is a little higher than the average for US cities and towns: 21.81% of adults in Harkers Island have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Harkers Island in 2022 was $31,649, which is upper middle income relative to North Carolina, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $126,596 for a family of four. However, Harkers Island contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Harkers Island home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Harkers Island residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Harkers Island include English, Irish, German, Scottish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Harkers Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.

Real Estate

Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.

In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 62.1% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.4% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.

Furthermore, the real estate in this neighborhood consists of more mobile homes than 97.0% of all neighborhoods in America, with 36.5% of the occupied housing here being classified as mobile homes. So if you are looking for a mobile home, or you like the look and feel of mobile home parks, this neighborhood might have the setting you desire.

People

Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.

In addition, has the amazing distinction of housing more same sex couples living together than 97.0% of neighborhoods in the U.S. If you are seeking such a neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that this is one place that you should consider.

Also, if you're nearing retirement age, or in retirement, the is an excellent choice for you to consider for top-quality retirement living. This neighborhood is rated by NeighborhoodScout as among the top 9.5% of retiree-friendly neighborhoods in North Carolina, combining peace and quiet, safety from crime, and offering diverse housing options from which retirees can choose. Maybe it's because of these amenities that a large proportion of the residents here are college educated seniors, mixed with other age groups. For these and other reasons, NeighborhoodScout identifies this neighborhood as a top-notch place to consider if you are thinking of or planning to retire in North Carolina.

Modes of Transportation

If you like to ride a ferry to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 1.2% of the neighborhood's commuters ride a ferry to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 99.1% of America's neighborhoods.

Also, while most Americans do drive to work alone each day, the neighborhood stands out by having 90.9% of commuters doing so, which is a higher proportion of people driving alone to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.3% of all American neighborhoods.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Scots-Irish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.3% of this neighborhood's residents have Scots-Irish ancestry.

The Neighbors

There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Harkers Island are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 44.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.

The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.

In the neighborhood, 38.5% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 32.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (18.9%), and 9.9% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 100.0% of households. Some people also speak Italian (2.1%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

In the neighborhood in Harkers Island, NC, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as English (19.7%). There are also a number of people of Irish ancestry (13.2%), and residents who report German roots (6.5%), and some of the residents are also of Scottish ancestry (4.6%), along with some Italian ancestry residents (3.8%), among others.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (35.4% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (90.9%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


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Economics & Demographics include:
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Commute To Work
Migration & Mobility
Race & Ethnic Diversity
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Schools include:
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