Nags Head leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 98% of adults in Nags Head typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Nags Head, ~38% vote Democratic, ~60% Republican, and ~2% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Nags Head compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Nags Head leans more Republican than 3 of 13 neighbors.
Nags Head runs about 19 points more Republican than North Carolina as a whole.
Why Nags Head leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Nags Head, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Nags Head votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 22%, about 14 points below the U.S. average of 36%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Nags Head, NC sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Nags Head looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Nags Head is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 74%, about 14 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Manteo, NC R+27
- Kill Devil Hills, NC R+21
- Wanchese, NC R+56
- Manns Harbor, NC R+57
- Kitty Hawk, NC R+27
- Southern Shores, NC R+11
- Harbinger, NC R+48
- Powells Point, NC R+41
- Duck, NC Even
- Buffalo City, NC R+57
Cities with Similar Populations
- Pierson, FL R+51
- Holmesville, OH R+75
- Waco, GA R+72
- West End-Cobb Town, AL R+35
- Clarksville, TX Even
- Garfield, GA R+34
- Madison, VA R+32
- Clarion, IA R+37
- Hannibal, NY R+39
- Vanderwagen, NM D+26
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from North Carolina State Board of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.