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Quick Facts

Quality of Life

  • Elizabeth City is featured in the book The 100 Best Small Towns in America by Norman Crampton.
  • Elizabeth City is ranked by Money Magazine as one of the "Best Places to Live on the Coast."
  • Elizabeth City has been cited as one of the top three best retirement towns by Retirement Lifestyles in the Carolinas magazine.
  • Elizabeth City has a performing arts theater, a state museum of history, a children's science museum and 12 acres of waterfront parks.
  • Elizabeth City is known as the "Harbor of Hospitality®" for the tradition of handing roses out to visiting boaters.
  • Elizabeth City is the home of Albemarle Hospital, a regional community hospital with exceptional resources that employs over 1,000.
  • The area is just a few hours' drive from some of the best medical universities in the country: Duke University, East Carolina University Medical School, and the Medical College of Virginia.
  • Elizabeth City's climate is mild and comfortable with an average temperature of 42° F in January and 79° F in July. An average of only 4.6 inches of snow fall per year.
  • The population includes more Coast Guard retirees per capita than anywhere in the country.

Location

  • Elizabeth City is centrally located in northeastern North Carolina, midway between New York and Florida and between Hampton Roads to the north and the Outer Banks to the east.
  • The City is on the Pasquotank River and is an attractive stop for boaters on the Albemarle Sound and the Intracoastal Waterway.
  • The Research Triangle area of North Carolina is 167 miles to the west and has been a technology business magnet for 30 years.
  • It's just a 45-minute drive to Hampton Roads, with a population of 1.6 million, or to the Outer Banks. During the summer, the average daily population of the Outer Banks is between 200,000 and 225,000, accounting for $14.4 million daily in visitor expenditures.
  • There is plenty of available land with 6,891 acres zoned industrial.
  • The region has a strong agricultural heritage with related sales approaching $50 million annually. 112,367 acres are zoned agricultural.
  • The cost of living is relatively low, making housing and amenities more affordable.

Transportation

  • Eleven regional and three international airports are nearby. In fact, the Elizabeth City Regional Airport, with a 7,219-foot runway, can accommodate helicopters, Lear Jets, and 747s.
  • Elizabeth City has deepwater barge sites with direct access to the Intracoastal Waterway, the Atlantic Ocean, and major highways.
  • The second busiest cargo port on the East Coast, the Port of Virginia, is just 50 miles away.
  • I-95, a major north/south artery, is just 110 miles away.
  • Half the U.S. population and over half of its manufacturers are within 750 miles.
  • Nearby major roadways allow same-day trucking service to over half the nation’s consumer and industrial markets.
  • Several sites are ready for industrial rail service development.

Education

  • Elizabeth City has three higher education institutions, Elizabeth City State University, College of The Albemarle, and Roanoke Bible College, graduating approximately 1,000 students annually.
  • Elizabeth City State University in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill recently initiated a joint Pharmacy Department program in Elizabeth City.
  • The region is among the top five in North Carolina in educational spending per child.
  • There are 12 public schools with 6,011 students Pre-K through Grade 12.
  • Five public schools have been named Schools of Distinction and one an Honor School of Excellence in the state’s ABCs accountability program.
  • In recent years, there has been a 10-point increase in average SAT scores.

Workforce

  • The region boasts a loyal, trained, and ready workforce of 16,439.
  • It also enjoys reasonable wages, with the average annual wage amounting to $28,132.
  • North Carolina is a right-to-work state.
  • Employers report low turnover and absenteeism.
  • The largest U.S. Coast Guard base in the country is in Elizabeth City, providing the opportunity for exiting or retiring military to join the workforce.
  • Federal/Military retirement pay is not taxed in NC.

Demographics

  • Elizabeth City's growth rate was almost twice that of North Carolina's from 1990 to 2000.
  • The estimated population in 2006 was 39,968 in Pasquotank County, 19,056 in Elizabeth City and 9,928 in Cambdem County.
  • The median age is 35.9.
  • In 2006, travel and tourism spending totaled $44 million.

Northeastern North Carolina Region

  • The Northeastern North Carolina region consists of 16 counties.
  • In the 2000 Census, the regional population was 342,428.
  • The region's cost of living index is 94.7, compared to 140 in Boston, Massachusetts, and 151.5 in Newark, New Jersey.