Elizabeth City became home to COA in 1961 when College of The Albemarle became the first community college in the state chartered under the Community College Act of 1957. In 1963, the college was approved as the first comprehensive community college in the North Carolina Community College System.

The college's 75-acre Elizabeth City Campus is located on Highway U.S. 17 North in Elizabeth City. On that campus, six major buildings provide space for administrative and faculty offices, classrooms, laboratories, a college bookstore, a student center, the Learning Resources Center, a lecture auditorium, a learning lab, the COA Auditorium, the Technology Center, a Basic Skills Lab, and a Health Sciences Center.

The Elizabeth City campus is located approximately 45 miles southwest of Norfolk, Virginia and 163 miles east of Raleigh, North Carolina.