Camden County is a county in North Carolina, United States, on the Albemarle Sound in the state’s northeastern corner. It had a population of 10,355 at the 2020 census and covers 310 square miles (804 km2), centred near 36°20′N 76°10′W.
Camden is the county seat, and its postal code is 27921. The county has two census-designated places — Camden and South Mills — plus about two dozen smaller unincorporated communities. Camden County sits in the Eastern time zone. On July 1, 2006 it became the first jurisdiction in North Carolina to consolidate its town and county governments into a single administrative unit, which is why no place here still carries a town or city charter of its own.
Towns & Villages in Camden County
Camden County has no incorporated towns or cities. Every named place is either a census-designated place (CDP) or an unincorporated community or crossroads. The table below carries over every place recorded in county and postal records, 28 in all.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camden | CDP · seat | — | 27921 |
| South Mills | CDP | — | 27976 |
| Alder Branch | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bartlett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Belcross | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Burnt Mills | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Chantilly | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Croome Acres MH Park | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Elizabeth City Beach | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Goose Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hastings Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Horseshoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Indiantown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Johnsons Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lambs Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lilly | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Trap | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Philadelphia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pierceville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Riddle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sharon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shiloh | Unincorp. | — | 27974 |
| Smiths Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Spences Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tar Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Taylors Beach | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Texas | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Whitehall Shores | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 27921 — Camden (also serves most of central Camden County)
- 27976 — South Mills (also serves the county’s western communities)
- 27974 — Shiloh
Nearly every other community listed above shares one of these three delivery ZIPs rather than having its own; the postal boundaries don’t track village names closely enough to assign each place with confidence.
Geography
Camden County lies on a low, water-cut peninsula between the Albemarle Sound and the Great Dismal Swamp, laced with the North River, the Pasquotank River, and a stretch of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Roughly a fifth of the county’s area is water. It borders Gates County to the northwest, Pasquotank County to the south, Currituck County to the east, and Tyrrell County across the Albemarle Sound to the south. To the north, across the state line, lie the independent cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk, Virginia.
Demographics
Camden County had 10,355 residents at the 2020 census. Camden and South Mills are its two largest population centres. Median household income in the county runs close to the North Carolina median of $70,804, reflecting its mix of commuter households and working farmland. Density is light for the region, at roughly 43 people per square mile of land.
Economy & Local Life
Farming remains central to Camden County’s economy — row crops, soybeans, and corn dominate the flat land west of the Pasquotank River — alongside a growing share of residents who commute to jobs in Elizabeth City, Chesapeake, and the wider Hampton Roads job market in Virginia. The county’s consolidated government, formed in the 2006 merger, runs schools, fire and rescue services, and county offices from Camden.
History
Camden County was formed in 1777 from Pasquotank County and named for Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, a British jurist who had publicly opposed the Stamp Act and sided with the American colonists’ case for representation. The county remained a rural farming and timber county through the 19th and 20th centuries. On July 1, 2006, Camden became North Carolina’s first consolidated city-county government, folding the small Town of Camden’s charter into the county administration rather than keeping the two as separate governments.
Getting There
US 17 runs the length of the county north–south, linking it to Elizabeth City and on to Chesapeake and Norfolk, Virginia; US 158 and NC 34 cross it east–west toward Currituck and the Outer Banks.
- Elizabeth City, NC — 10 miles south
- Chesapeake, VA — 25 miles north
- Norfolk, VA — 35 miles north
- Currituck Courthouse, NC — 20 miles east
The nearest commercial airport is Norfolk International Airport in Virginia; Elizabeth City Regional Airport, just south of the county line, handles general aviation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Camden County, North Carolina?
It sits in the northeastern corner of the state, on the Albemarle Sound between Elizabeth City and the Virginia line.
What is the population of Camden County?
10,355 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Camden County?
310 square miles (804 km2), of which about a fifth is water.
What is the county seat of Camden County?
Camden is the county seat.
How many towns are in Camden County?
None are separately incorporated — the 2006 city-county consolidation left Camden and South Mills as census-designated places, with the rest of the county made up of unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Camden County?
27921 (Camden), 27976 (South Mills), and 27974 (Shiloh).
Why is it called a “consolidated city-county”?
On July 1, 2006, Camden merged its town government into the county government, making it the first place in North Carolina to combine the two into a single administration.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in North Carolina.