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36.367° N, 75.937° W262 sq mi of landChecked 2026-11-13

Currituck County

Zone 8b, 238 frost-free days, farmland at $5,294 an acre. Top hazard: winter weather.

4.5 out of 10 overall, #82 of 100 NC counties with every factor weighted equally. Re-rank with your own weights

Gold suns: MeshCore repeaters heard in the last 30 days. Ruby X: the spot farthest from any repeater (44 km).

Scores out of 10, compared with the other 99 NC counties

  • 4.2Land cost
  • 4.4Rain
  • 0.6Sun
  • 5.4Growing
  • 6.9Rules
  • 8.0Clean
  • 8.7Hazards
  • 2.4Farm country
  • 0.2Mesh

Land and living costs

Farmland and buildings, per acre (2022)$5,294 source
Median home value$351,200 source
Median rent$1,126/mo source
People29,612 source
Farms (2022)87 source

Growing food

Hardiness zone8b (8a–9a across the county) source
Last spring frost (typical)Mar 27 source
First fall frost (typical)Nov 17 source
Frost-free days238 source
Rain, April–September27.5 in source
April–September
Rain, whole year48.8 in source
Prime farmland11% of soils source
includes 'prime if drained/irrigated/protected'
July average high / January average low87.2°F / 33°F source

Frost dates and season length come from the Elizabeth City weather station, 25 km from the county centre: the 50% chance date for 32°F.

County rules: RVs, tiny homes, animals

Zoning: The county zones its unincorporated land. The Currituck County Unified Development Ordinance applies to all land in the county (outside towns), with rural districts including AG (Agriculture) and SFM/SFI single-family districts. Currituck County Unified Development Ordinance, § 1.4.1 General Applicability

These are rules for county land outside town limits. Towns have their own. Read on 2026-11-13.

Living in an RV on your landWith conditions

Living in an RV as a permanent residence, or as a temporary residence outside approved campgrounds, is prohibited in every district; the one exception is a temporary residence (camper, travel trailer or RV) while a county building permit for the permanent home is open, occupied by the people who will live in that home.

“Use of a recreational vehicle as a permanent residence or use of a recreational vehicle as a temporary residence outside of approved campgrounds”

§ 4.1.1.G(2)(c); § 4.4.6.B(1)(c) Temporary Residence, read 2026-11-13

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

Tiny house on wheelsWith conditions

The UDO has no tiny-house definition and defines 'camper' as a recreational vehicle; a tiny house on wheels would fall under the same RV rule (permanent use prohibited; temporary only during permitted home construction). Not confirmed with the county.

Ch. 10 Definitions (Camper: See Recreational Vehicle); § 4.1.1.G(2)(c), read 2026-11-13

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

Small house on a foundationAllowed

A single-family detached dwelling is allowed with a zoning compliance permit in AG and the residential districts; no minimum dwelling floor area was found in the UDO (the 2025 log notes the ADU minimum was removed).

Table 4.1.1.A Summary Use Table (Household Living: Dwelling, single-family detached), read 2026-11-13

State law: farm buildings outside town limits skip the building code (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-138(b4)).

State law: homes on 10+ acres in farm districts (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(b)).

State law: building permits (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1110).

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

ChickensAllowed

'Housing for Poultry' is a by-right accessory use in AG, SFM, SFI, MXR and GB (column positions read from the PDF table). Outside AG: no more than 8 birds, no roosters, covered coop at least 25 ft from homes and lot lines, birds kept fenced.

“No more than eight birds may be housed per lot”

Table 4.3.2.E; § 4.3.3.M Housing for Poultry, read 2026-11-13

State law: real farms are exempt from county zoning (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)).

State law: right to farm (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-701(a)).

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

Goats and livestockWith conditions

Accessory keeping of goats is allowed in AG on lots of 20,000 sq ft or more (one goat per 10,000 sq ft) and in SFM/SFI on 40,000 sq ft or more; animal husbandry as a principal use needs a zoning compliance permit in AG and SFI, a 20,000 sq ft minimum lot, 9,000 sq ft per hoofed animal and 100 ft setbacks for barns and pens.

“Uses maintaining hoofed animals shall maintain 9,000 square feet per animal kept on site.”

§ 4.3.3.P Keeping of Specific Livestock; § 4.2.1.A Animal Husbandry, read 2026-11-13

State law: real farms are exempt from county zoning (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)).

State law: right to farm (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-701(a)).

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

BeesNot addressed

Searched the full UDO for bees, beekeeping and apiary; no mention.

County ordinance, read 2026-11-13

State law: real farms are exempt from county zoning (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)).

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

Composting toiletNot addressed

Searched the full UDO for compost and toilet; compost appears only as industrial 'waste composting' and nursery products.

County ordinance, read 2026-11-13

State law: composting toilets are allowed, but you still need a septic permit (15A NCAC 18E .1001 (eff. Oct. 1, 2021)).

Confirm with Currituck County before you buy land or build.

What we couldn't confirm
  • District columns for the poultry and animal-husbandry rows were read from PDF table positions, not a clean table; the districts named should be double-checked against the PDF.
  • Text amendments adopted in 2026 (PB 26-01 and later, listed on the county UDO page) may not be folded into the published UDO PDF; none were read.

What breaks here

10 federal disaster declarations covered Currituck County in the last 10 years: 5 hurricane, 2 biological, 2 tropical storm, 1 winter storm. source

FEMA's biggest risks for the county: winter weather (relatively moderate), lightning (relatively moderate), hurricane (relatively low). source

Gear that answers it

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Mesh radio coverage

MeshCore radios heard (30 days)0 source
Repeaters0 source
County near a repeater2% source
share of the county within 10 km of an active repeater — a rough line-of-sight guess, not a measured signal
Nearest repeater to the county centre43.1 km source
from the county centre

Most of Currituck County is out of range. A solar repeater on high ground near the red X would cover the biggest gap. Solar repeater kits

Data: MeshCore map. Coverage assumes about 10 km per repeater; real range depends on height and terrain. State gap map

Animals nearby

Livestock already in the county is a fair sign of feed stores, vets and neighbours who know how.

Laying hens904 source
Goats176 source
Cattlewithheld by USDA to avoid disclosing individual farms source
Hogs46 source
Bee colonies46 source

Clean ground, sun and power

Active Superfund sitesNone source
Toxics Release Inventory facilities2 source
facilities registered with EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, active or open status
FEMA overall riskVery Low source
Sun, kWh per m² per day4.29 source
Public EV charging stations3 source

Rooftop solar credit depends on your utility. Duke Energy customers: see the state rules on the North Carolina page.

Nearby counties

CountyOverallZoneFarmland $/acre
Camden5.18a$4,007
Pasquotank4.98a$4,382
Perquimans5.68a$3,918
Tyrrell6.08b$3,836
Chowan5.28a$3,973
Dare3.48b$13,921