Marketed as the "Harbor of Hospitality", Elizabeth City has had a long history of shipping due to its location at a narrowed bend of the Pasquotank River.

[12] With improvements to the Dismal Swamp Canal, commerce flourished and Elizabeth City became a financial center of trade and commercially successful in the early 19th century.

It was based on such industries as lumbering, shipbuilding, grain export, and fish and oyster processing; it rivaled other ports such as Norfolk, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland.

Additionally from 1942 to 1944, the Elizabeth City Shipyard supported the war effort with much of its production: thirty 111-foot SC-class submarine chasers,[14][15][16] four YT-class yard tugboats, and six 104-foot QS-class quick supply boats.

[14][17] The Elizabeth City Shipyard built the most subchasers for the war effort (30 out of 438 total nationally), and set the record construction time for the SC-class, with SC-740 laid down in only thirty days.

Starting in the late 1990s, revival efforts in tourism and civic revitalization centered on downtown and the city's five historic districts have led to increasing economic stability.

[20] Located in the "Inner Banks" region of North Carolina, Elizabeth City is largely flat and marshy with an elevation of only 12 feet (3.7 m) above sea level.

Elizabeth City commonly experiences thunderstorms during the summer months and has endured many tropical storms and hurricanes due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

The USCG Air Station and the Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC) in Elizabeth City were featured in numerous scenes of the 2006 Disney movie The Guardian, standing in for Kodiak, Alaska.

NAS Weeksville's LTA craft played a vital role in German U-boat spotting during World War II, helping to minimize losses to East Coast shipping.

[37] NAS Weeksville was home to two hangars, one still existing as corrugated steel, and a slightly larger one constructed out of Southern Yellow Pine, to conserve metal for the WWII war effort.

The museum occupies a prominent location adjacent to the city's waterfront and contains many permanent and revolving exhibits on the history and culture of the historic Albemarle region.

The history of European colonization dates back to 1668, making the Albemarle the country's oldest colonial inhabited area, second only to Jamestown and adjacent settlements in neighboring Virginia.

Among these are the most striking architectural feature of the greater Albemarle region, the Virginia Dare Hotel, and Arcade, which has dominated the skyline of Elizabeth City since its completion in 1927.

Designed by William Lee Stoddart of New York City, one of the nation's leading hotel architects, the nine-story building was billed as the Albemarle's first “skyscraper” when it opened in 1927.

The hotel contained 100 rooms and a heated garage (now the rear parking lot) with an interior filling station and lubricating stand.

Architecturally, its restrained Colonial Revival finish follows the typical division of such tall buildings into the three parts of a classical pillar: a sturdy two-story base; a simply detailed six-story shaft; and a one-story capital, which displays an abundance of decoration.

[39] Elizabeth City was the 1929 birthplace of the American Moth Boat, a class of recreational sailboats invented by Dr. Joel Van Sant.

[42] This annual Christmastime fair is sponsored by the Albemarle Craftsman's Guild and features artisans, many of whom wear period costumes, selling and demonstrating traditional crafts.

The majority of the stations received in the area come from southeastern Virginia, including WTKR (CBS), WAVY (NBC), WVEC (ABC), WVBT (FOX), and WHRO (PBS).

The only exceptions are WUND (PBS), a repeater transmitter of UNC-TV licensed to broadcast from Edenton, North Carolina, and WSKY (independent) transmitting from Camden.

Founded as a normal school in 1891, it now serves the higher educational needs of northeastern North Carolina's sixteen counties, offering 28 undergraduate and four master's degrees.

Starting in October 2012, the county began soliciting offers for affiliation with neighboring healthcare systems in order to cement Albemarle Hospital's position as the region's major medical facility.

Affiliation with a larger health organization would also provide increased buying power, improvements in equipment and facility investment as well as entice additional physicians to the area.

Currently a brand new Sentara Albemarle Medical Center is being built on Halstead Boulevard Extended with an expected opening in the fall of 2025.

[59] As with other Albemarle-area municipalities, Elizabeth City purchases wholesale electricity from Dominion North Carolina Power, operating 230kV transmission lines through the Albemarle area.

Bypass US 17 rejoins the highway several miles outside of town, while US 158 splits off to the west at Morgan's Corner just before crossing the Pasquotank River into Camden County.

Truck is a double-designation almost unique among U.S. routes, traveling from the Camden Causeway west along Elizabeth Street and north along Hughes Boulevard to double-terminate with US 17 Business.

US 158 enters Elizabeth City from points east, including the Outer Banks, as well as Dare, Currituck, and Camden counties.

[65] The railroad still serves the region, primarily carrying grain, sand, gravel and other raw materials to and from the Norfolk Southern and CSX mainlines in Chesapeake.