Southern Shores vs Kitty Hawk: Private-Association Residential or Year-Round Flood-Mapped Town
Southern Shores and Kitty Hawk are adjacent towns at the north end of Dare County's developed Outer Banks, with Southern Shores to the north and Kitty Hawk between it and Kill Devil Hills. They share a county tax collector, a revaluation calendar, a hospital in Nags Head, the same bridge traffic and the same coastal insurance market. The choice between them comes down to what the town itself provides, how each town pays for its beach and what each says about flood exposure.
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Southern Shores vs Kitty Hawk: the short answer
Southern Shores and Kitty Hawk are adjacent towns at the north end of Dare County's developed Outer Banks, with Southern Shores to the north and Kitty Hawk between it and Kill Devil Hills. They share a county tax collector, a revaluation calendar, a hospital in Nags Head, the same bridge traffic and the same coastal insurance market. The choice between them comes down to what the town itself provides, how each town pays for its beach and what each says about flood exposure.
Southern Shores describes a planned, mostly residential town where private civic and property associations run many of the amenities and most homes are on private septic. Kitty Hawk's adopted budget describes a year-round town of 3,689 residents at the 2020 census, most of it inside a Special Flood Hazard Area, with a published townwide rate and a flood-risk portal. Neither town is age-restricted. Use the dimensions below as a checklist, confirm each rate and district with Dare County and the town before an offer, and read the coastal hurricane and flood insurance guide before pricing a purchase.
Full profiles: Southern Shores (North Carolina) and Kitty Hawk (North Carolina).
Which one fits you
Choose Southern Shores if
- You want a mostly residential town with private-association amenities: the Southern Shores Civic Association manages beach access stairs and crossovers, soundside parking, several parks, a boat club and pickleball and fitness classes, with fees confirmed with each association.
- You are comfortable owning a septic system: the town says most homes use private septic permitted and inspected by Dare County Environmental Health Services, so you will ask for the permit and inspection history.
- You want to see the nourishment cost split into districts: the town's rate history lists a general rate of 0.1958 with two nourishment districts at 0.0715 and 0.0300, so oceanside parcels and others carry different charges.
- You can plan around the Wright Memorial Bridge and US 158 seasonal backups and prefer to run errands outside Saturday turnover days.
Choose Kitty Hawk if
- You want a published flood tool for any address: Kitty Hawk's online flood-risk portal returns the flood zone, base flood elevation, design flood elevation and elevation certificates on file, and the planning office can supply certificates.
- You want a town that publishes a detailed adopted budget and a townwide rate of 22 cents with a nourishment district at 6 cents, and you accept that property tax is 48.08 percent of general fund revenue and expenses are outpacing some revenue streams.
- You want a town with about 10.7 miles of shoreline on the Atlantic, Kitty Hawk Bay and the sound, a four-mile US 158 multi-use path in construction and an urgent care center in town, which Chesapeake Regional Healthcare lists in Kitty Hawk.
- You accept that most of the town's 8.8 square miles is in a Special Flood Hazard Area and will price flood and wind coverage for the exact parcel before signing.
Southern Shores and Kitty Hawk side by side
| Dimension | Southern Shores | Kitty Hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Town and county tax rate | The NC Department of Revenue's 2025-26 table lists Dare County at .2632, down from .4005 in 2024-25, with the last revaluation in 2025 and the next in 2030. The town's rate history lists a town rate of 0.1958 from 2020 through 2025. As our arithmetic, .2632 plus 0.1958 is 0.4590 per $100, or $1,836 on a $400,000 assessed value, before any nourishment district charge. Because the history table covers years before the 2025 revaluation, ask the town for the current rate. | Kitty Hawk's 2025-26 budget sets a townwide rate of 22 cents, made up of 20 cents for general purposes and 2 cents for beach nourishment, down from 30 cents the year before. Adding the county's $0.2632 gives $0.4832, which on a $400,000 assessed value is about $1,933 a year (our arithmetic), before the district charge. The town says values rose by an average of 74 percent in the 2025 revaluation and that 22 cents is 3 cents above the revenue-neutral rate of 19 cents. |
| Beach nourishment charges | The town's rate history shows two beach nourishment municipal service districts, District 1 at 0.0715 and District 2 at 0.0300 per $100, charged from 2021 through 2025 on top of the general rate. The 2022 nourishment, contracted by Dare County for four towns, pumped approximately 972,000 cubic yards of sand in the fall of 2022, followed by approximately 50,000 cubic yards at the northern end in May 2023. Nourishment is periodic maintenance, not a permanent fix, and the cost is borne by tax districts. | Properties in Kitty Hawk's beach nourishment municipal service district pay an additional 6 cents, down from 10 cents, with 2 cents of the townwide rate also dedicated to nourishment. The budget says a penny of the townwide rate produces about $248,674 and a penny of the district rate about $95,006, and records the project as first completed in 2017 and renourished in 2022. A transfer of $217,959 to the fund is budgeted for FY 2026. Confirm whether a parcel lies inside the district before contract. |
| Flood exposure and the tools to check it | Southern Shores is a barrier-island town exposed to storm surge, wind and flooding, and Dare County is one of the 21 coastal counties with Know Your Zone evacuation zones. The town directs buyers to the county for emergency management and reentry permits. The history page reports that some owners received a safety protocol letter from the US Army Corps of Engineers about a former practice aircraft training area from the 1940s, so check the notice for any parcel in the area. | Kitty Hawk's flood page says only 1.29 square miles, about 15 percent of its 8.8 square miles, is outside the floodplain, and names storm surge as the primary source of flooding, citing Hurricane Isabel in September 2003 and Hurricane Irene in August 2011. Planning and inspections can determine a property's position relative to the FEMA floodplain and supply elevation certificates, and the online portal returns zone and elevation data by address. The NC Department of Insurance says homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, so use these tools before an offer. |
| Wind insurance and named-storm deductibles | The NC Department of Insurance says windstorm and hail coverage may be excluded from a primary policy and purchased separately, often through the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, with its own deductible; its example of a 2% named storm deductible on a $300,000 home is $6,000. Southern Shores owners buy this coverage on top of any flood policy. | The same department explanation applies in Kitty Hawk, where lenders may require flood insurance in a flood plain. Because most of the town is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, a lender requirement is more likely here than in a town with a larger share of land outside the floodplain, so get quotes for wind and flood together for the specific parcel. |
| Utilities and amenities | Water is supplied by the Dare County Water Department, and most homes use private septic systems, which is a maintenance and replacement cost that a buyer on sewer elsewhere will not carry. The town states that its homeowner associations are private and that membership, dues, fees, amenities and parking passes must be confirmed with each association, so ask for governing documents and the current budget. | Kitty Hawk's budget funds four community programs: a free outdoor movie night, a Santa motorcade, spring and fall community trash clean-ups and a police department open house. It lists a playground replacement at Pruitt Park and a recreation committee that plans family events. The four-mile multi-use path along US 158 rose from an estimate of $1,600,000 to $7,200,000, with the town's share rising from $320,000 to $1,440,000. |
| Healthcare and older-resident profile | The hospital for the Outer Banks is The Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head, which Outer Banks Health describes as having a 24-hour Emergency Department. From Southern Shores that is a drive south along the beach road or US 158, so test it in summer traffic. The town provides lifeguard service from late May through September and beach wheelchair rental rather than clinical care. | The same hospital serves Kitty Hawk at 4800 S. Croatan Highway, and Chesapeake Regional Healthcare says it opened in March 2002 with 18 acute care medical-surgical beds and operates urgent care centers in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head. The 2020 census figures in the town budget show 23.4 percent of residents 65 or older and a median household income of $80,172. See the healthcare access guide for how to compare networks. |
| Traffic and getting off the island | The town's page on US 158 says that since December 14, 2014 leaders from Southern Shores, Duck and Kitty Hawk, Dare and Currituck counties and NCDOT have worked on seasonal check-in and check-out day backups and publish a Summer Saver Route for visitors going south of Kitty Hawk. Retirees living here year-round learn to schedule errands around Saturday turnover days. | Kitty Hawk is the first Outer Banks town reached from the mainland across the Wright Memorial Bridge. Dare County controls evacuation and reentry, and the neighboring town of Kill Devil Hills says permits expire at year end and that residents can show a driver's license with a Dare County address. Kitty Hawk residents should confirm the same rules with Dare County Emergency Management. |
Related guides
Sources and review date
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources below; where a rule or figure can change, check the linked source before relying on it.
- County Property Tax Rates and Reappraisal Schedules, 2025-2026 — North Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Tax Information — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Property Tax Rate History 2004 Forward — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- History — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Storm Info and Preparedness — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2022 TownWide Beach Nourishment — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Homeowner Associations — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Water & Septic — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- US 158 Seasonal Traffic Backup Counter Measures — Town of Southern Shores, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Know Your Zone — North Carolina Department of Public Safety (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Windstorm and Hail — North Carolina Department of Insurance (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Flood Insurance — North Carolina Department of Insurance (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Emergency Department — Outer Banks Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Current Sales and Use Tax Rates — North Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Outer Banks Hospital — Chesapeake Regional Healthcare (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Adopted Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan — Town of Kitty Hawk (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Flood Information — Town of Kitty Hawk (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Hurricane/Storm Preparedness — Town of Kill Devil Hills (accessed 2026-09-30)