It is 80 minutes from Tokyo by way of the Joetsu Shinkansen or three hours on the Kan-Etsu Expressway and is considered a strategic traffic point in the region.

Nagaoka has a humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

In the Boshin War of 1868 during the Meiji Restoration, Nagaoka Domain was a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei against the imperial forces, and the city was reduced to rubble during the Battle of Hokuetsu.

A gift of one hundred sacks of rice from a neighboring province was sold to finance a new school during the reconstruction of Nagaoka, from which the anecdote of Kome Hyappyo was born.

[citation needed] With the Meiji period creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the towns of Nagaoka and Nagaoka-honmachi were established.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Niigata 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The manufacturing industry prospered in Nagaoka following World War II, due in part to favorable location and good transportation infrastructure.