Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Pocomoke /ˈpoʊkoʊmoʊk/.

Pocomoke City is a center for commerce on the lower shore, home to an industrial park currently playing host to defense contractors, aerospace engineering, and plastics fabrication.

Beginning in the late seventeenth century, a small settlement called Stevens Landing (sometimes Stevens Ferry) grew at the ferry landing on the south bank of the Pocomoke River.

"[6] Stevens Landing, and then Newtown, remained a modest river crossing until the construction through the town in the 1880s of the trunk railroad line along the Delmarva Peninsula from Wilmington, Delaware, to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

NASA, the U.S. Navy, and the Coast Guard helped with continued growth by bringing jobs to the area.

[9] In the past, Pocomoke City held a franchise in the Eastern Shore Baseball League, at times hosting the Salamanders, the Red Sox, and the Chicks.

[11] In October 1933, George Armwood, a Pocomoke City man was taken from a jail cell in nearby Princess Anne and killed by a mob.

[17] Its climate is characterized by hot and humid stretches of weather in summer, but they are often broken up by cold fronts from the north offering several days of mild temperatures.

Both spring and fall are pleasant with cool to mild temperatures and lower humidity.

Winters are relatively mild compared to areas to the north and northwest, but cold spells send temperatures well below freezing.

Due to the impact of the Atlantic Ocean nearby, average snowfall amounts only range from 5 to 10 inches (130 to 250 mm); however, this varies considerably from year to year and occasional nor'easters can produce significant snowfalls over one foot (30 cm).

The Blizzard of 2018, for example, produced 10 to 15 inches (250 to 380 mm) of snow, temperatures in teens, and winds gusting over 40 mph (64 km/h).

[31] Sewell subsequently filed suit in federal court together with former lieutenant Lynell Green and former detective Franklin Savage, alleging a pattern of "rampant racial discrimination and retaliation" by city, county, and state officials.

In 2019, Pocomoke City agreed to settle Sewell and Green's federal lawsuits, and the town entered a consent decree requiring it to reform its policies and procedures around policing.