How dark is the sky in Pinehurst, NC?

Satellite radiance puts Pinehurst in the suburban edge band. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Pinehurst's sky is brighter than 13.6% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

How far Pinehurst is from a meaningfully darker sky

Southern Pines, NC, about 4 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Pinehurst. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Southern Pines, NC is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Pinehurst against the rest of the dataset

Pinehurst, NC has a population of about 18,502, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Pinehurst ranks 434 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.