About Harkers Island

Harkers Island is a very small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 1,588 people and just one neighborhood, Harkers Island is the 333rd largest community in North Carolina.

When you are in Harkers Island, you'll notice that it is more blue-collar than most other communities in America. 43.6% of Harkers Island's employed work in blue-collar jobs, while America averages only 24.7% that do. Overall, Harkers Island is a town of construction workers and builders, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Harkers Island who work in food service (7.93%), management occupations (6.69%), and teaching (6.22%).

Harkers Island is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

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

Harkers Island is a small town, and as is often the case with smaller towns, the population isn't large or dense enough to support much in the way of a public transportation system. In fact, there are many rural roads around Harkers Island, which makes walking or biking to and from work a bit difficult. This makes for a very car-oriented town: 99.13% of residents commute to work by private automobile, and people often drive out of town for work, shopping, and other activities.

As is often the case in a small town, Harkers Island doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Harkers Island Information and Demographics

The population of Harkers Island has one of the lowest overall levels of education in the country: only 7.25% of people over 25 hold a college degree. The national average for all municipalities is 14.96%.

The per capita income in Harkers Island in 2000 was $19,790, which is upper middle income relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $79,160 for a family of four.

The people who call Harkers Island home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Harkers Island is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Harkers Island include English and Irish.

The most common language spoken in Harkers Island is English. Some people also speak French.