Kill Devil Hills, NC · standard

ZIP Code 27948

Dare County, North Carolina — Census ACS demographics, housing tenure, and business patterns, benchmarked against every US ZIP.

Reviewed by PlainZIP Editorial Team, ZIP Code Data Editors · June 13, 2026

10,862
454/sq mi: $86,193
Median income: $437,500
Median home value: 43.5%
Bachelor's or higher

The verdict

Kill Devil Hills pairs an above-median household income with upper-quartile home values, in a low-density, homeowner-dominated area.

Top 31%
household income, US ZIPs: Top 17%
home value, US ZIPs: 454
people per sq mi: 74%
owner-occupied homes

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2019–2023). Percentiles rank ZIP 27948 against every reporting US ZIP.

ZIP code 27948 is classified by USPS as a standard delivery area and covers roughly 23.9 square miles in Kill Devil Hills, Dare County, North Carolina. The area is home to 10,862 residents, producing a population density of 454 people per square mile, and falls within the New York time zone. These USPS and Census boundary values drive every downstream statistic on this page, including the benchmarks that compare 27948 against North Carolina and the nation.

On the economic side, the median household income for ZIP 27948 sits at $86,193 (25% above the North Carolina average), while per-capita income is $46,939. The poverty rate stands at 8.6% and the unemployment rate at 7.8%. On housing, the median home value is $437,500 (69% above the state average) with median rent at $1,673 per month, and 74.2% of occupied units are owner-occupied, a direct signal of whether 27948 behaves more like a homeowner neighborhood or a renter-heavy ZIP.

Education and household profile round out the picture: 43.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the median age is 48.4, and the average commute is 23 minutes. We also surface 5 nearby ZIP codes within roughly 10 miles and 6 additional ZIPs sharing Dare County, so you can benchmark 27948 against its immediate geography rather than a national average alone. Every figure is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, HUD Fair Market Rents, and FHFA Home Price Index data, no estimates, no proprietary scoring. Verify with HUD →

Top industries in ZIP 27948

Construction

86
Accommodation and food services

82
Retail trade

72
Professional, scientific, and technical services

43
Real estate and rental and leasing

40

What this shows Establishment counts come from the Census ZIP Code Business Patterns program, which counts physical business locations rather than employees or revenue.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates + ZIP Code Business Patterns + HUD FMR + FHFA HPI ACS demographics, ZBP business establishments, HUD Fair Market Rents, FHFA HPI for ZIP 27948, Kill Devil Hills, NC · 2023 Accessed 2026-06-13 Census ACS 5-Year Estimates use a rolling 60-month sample for stable small-geography estimates; ZBP updated annually; HUD FMR + FHFA HPI updated quarterly/annually.

Quick Facts

10,862

Population

23.9

Area (sq mi)

454

People / sq mi

New York

Time Zone

standard

ZIP Type

Neighborhood Scorecard

Get an A-F grade across income, safety, housing, rent, education, commute, and childcare for this ZIP code.

View Scorecard →

Who lives in ZIP 27948?

48.4

Median Age

48.6%

Male

51.4%

Female

4.3%

Foreign-Born

White 84.1%

African American 0.7%

Asian 0.8%

American Indian or Alaska Native 0.2%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.0%

Two or More Ethnicities 10.8%

Hispanic or Latino 9.8%

Hispanic or Latino is an ethnicity category from the Census Bureau and may overlap with other categories above.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)

How much do residents earn?

$86,193

Median Household Income

+25% vs state

$46,939

Per Capita Income

8.6%

Poverty Rate

7.8%

Unemployment Rate

22.7 min

Mean Commute Time

How ZIP 27948 ranks nationally

Household income vs. every US ZIP code

Median household income — the full national distribution, with this ZIP marked

$86,193 Top 31% higher than 69% of 30,318 US ZIPs

Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US ZIPs. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2019–2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)

What is the education profile here?

High School Graduate or Higher 61.0%

Bachelor's Degree or Higher 43.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)

What does housing look like?

10,173

Total Housing Units

5,586

Occupied Units

4,587

Vacant Units

2.22

Avg Household Size

Occupancy Type

Owner 74.2%

Renter 25.8%

$437,500

Median Home Value

+69% vs state

$1,673

Median Rent

1986

Median Year Built

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023)

How have home values changed over time?

FHFA House Price Index, annual appreciation data based on repeat sales and appraisals

+7.0%

YoY Change (2024)

400

HPI Index (2000 = 100)

+300%

Total Change Since 2000

Home values in ZIP 27948 have increased 7.0% over the past year (2024). Since 2000, this ZIP has seen +300% cumulative appreciation.

Year	Annual Change	HPI Index
2020	+8.5%	231
2021	+16.8%	270
2022	+25.5%	339
2023	+10.3%	374
2024	+7.0%	400

Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index, All-Transactions, Five-Digit ZIP Codes (Developmental Index). Index base = 100 in year 2000. Data through 2024. ZIP codes with few transactions may show missing values.

What businesses operate in this ZIP?

Census Bureau data shows 486 business establishments in ZIP 27948, employing approximately 4,041 people with a combined annual payroll of $163,658,000.

486

Businesses

4,041

Employees

$163.7M

Annual Payroll

Industry Sectors

Industry	Establishments	% of Total
Construction	86	17.7%
Accommodation and food services	82	16.9%
Retail trade	72	14.8%
Professional, scientific, and technical services	43	8.8%
Real estate and rental and leasing	40	8.2%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	39	8.0%
Other services (except public administration)	33	6.8%
Finance and insurance	23	4.7%
Health care and social assistance	18	3.7%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	16	3.3%
Wholesale trade	11	2.3%
Transportation and warehousing	7	1.4%
Manufacturing	6	1.2%
Information	6	1.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP), 2023. Employment figures may include noise for disclosure avoidance.

Nearby ZIP Codes

Want a side-by-side? Compare 27948 vs 27954 →

27948

10,862
27949

6,947
27954

6,111
27959

2,789
27964

545
27941

536

What this shows Among its immediate neighbors, ZIP 27948 ranks the most populous — useful context the national average alone can't give.

27949

$120,662
27959

$91,264
27948

$86,193
27954

$80,587
27941

$50,893

What this shows By household income, ZIP 27948 ranks #3 of 5 neighboring ZIPs — local affluence varies block to block, not just metro to metro.

ZIP Code	City	Population	Distance
27954	Manteo, NC	6,111	7.4 mi
27949	Kitty Hawk, NC	6,947	6.7 mi
27964	Point Harbor, NC	545	8.0 mi
27941	Harbinger, NC	536	9.3 mi
27959	Nags Head, NC	2,789	10.4 mi

More ZIP Codes in Dare County

Dare County Kill Devil Hills, NC North Carolina

Frequently Asked Questions

What county is ZIP code 27948 in? ▼

ZIP code 27948 (Kill Devil Hills) is located in Dare County, North Carolina. Dare County contains multiple ZIP codes, see the full list at /counties/dare-nc.

What is the population of ZIP code 27948? ▼

ZIP code 27948 in Kill Devil Hills, NC has a population of 10,862 according to the Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.

What is the median household income in ZIP 27948? ▼

The median household income in ZIP 27948 is $86,193, which is 13% above the national average of $76,288.

What is the average home value in ZIP 27948? ▼

The median home value in ZIP 27948 is $437,500, which is 57% above the national average of $278,155.

What is the demographic makeup of ZIP 27948? ▼

The largest racial group in ZIP 27948 is White at 84.1%. Hispanic or Latino residents make up 9.8% of the population.

How many businesses are in ZIP code 27948? ▼

ZIP code 27948 has 486 business establishments employing approximately 4,041 people, according to Census Bureau ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP) 2023 data.

What are the main industries in ZIP code 27948? ▼

The top industries by establishment count in ZIP 27948 are: Construction (86), Accommodation and food services (82), Retail trade (72). There are 14 industry sectors represented in total.

How have home values changed in ZIP code 27948? ▼

According to the FHFA House Price Index, home values in ZIP 27948 increased by 7.0% in 2024. Since 2000, home values in this ZIP have appreciated by approximately 300%. This is a developmental index based on repeat sales and appraisal data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

What is the education level in ZIP code 27948? ▼

In ZIP code 27948, 61.0% of residents aged 25+ have a high school diploma or higher, and 43.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher. These figures come from the Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023).

What is the average commute time in ZIP 27948? ▼

The mean commute time for workers in ZIP code 27948 is 22.7 minutes according to Census ACS data. The national average is roughly 26 minutes, so commuters here spend less time traveling to work than typical.

What percentage of residents own vs. rent in ZIP 27948? ▼

In ZIP code 27948, approximately 74.2% of occupied housing units are owner-occupied and 25.8% are renter-occupied, based on Census ACS 2023 data.

What is the poverty rate in ZIP code 27948? ▼

The poverty rate in ZIP code 27948 is 8.6% according to Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. This measures the percentage of the population living below the federal poverty threshold.