[9] Kitty Hawk became world-famous after the Wright brothers made the first controlled powered airplane flights at Kill Devil Hills, four miles (6.4 km) south of the town, on December 17, 1903.

After the four flights in their Wright Flyer, the brothers walked back to Kitty Hawk.

The Wrights chose the area because its frequent winds and soft sandy surfaces were suitable for their glider experiments, which they conducted over three years before they made the powered flights.

The Old Currituck Sound Bridge was completed in 1930, which connected the mainland to the Outer Banks across Albemarle Sound, prompting the paving of a road between the two existing bridges (the other in Manteo) and connecting the Outer Banks to the outside world by road for the first time.

[8] The Kitty Hawk Life-Saving Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,689 people, 1,532 households, and 1,073 families residing in the town.

Federally, Kitty Hawk is part of North Carolina's 3rd congressional district, represented by Republican Greg Murphy since 2019.

According to the Trewartha climate classification system, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina has a humid subtropical climate with hot and humid summers, cool winters and year-around precipitation (Cfak).

The plant hardiness zone in Kitty Hawk is 8b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 16.6 °F (−8.6 °C).