Davis is located in eastern Carteret County, on the northwest shore of Core Sound, between Jarrett Bay to the west and Oyster Creek to the northeast. To the southeast, across Core Sound, is Core Banks, a barrier island that is part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, with access by ferry from Davis. U.S. Route 70 passes through the town, leading southwest 18 miles (29 km) to Beaufort and northeast 13 miles (21 km) to its eastern terminus at Atlantic.
The Davis CDP has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2), of which 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2), or 0.59%, is water.[4]
