Earnings Per Share of the Company (Details) (Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc, USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010
Schedule of Components of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	185,000	0	185,000	0
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Attributable to Parent	$ 12,464	$ 13,089	$ 31,284	$ 20,750
Dividends, Preferred Stock	0	1,406	0	4,219
Undistributed Earnings Allocated to Participating Securities	164	142	521	454
Income From Continuing Operations Available to Common Shareholders of the Company	12,300	11,541	30,763	16,077
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Attributable to Parent	0	(90)	0	(90)
Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic	$ 12,300	$ 11,451	$ 30,763	$ 15,987
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	85,171,000	80,225,000	82,020,000	80,164,000
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Notional Units	631,000	0	631,000	0
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Conversion of Debt Securities	118,000	93,000	118,000	93,000
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Share-based Payment Arrangements	72,000	84,000	73,000	94,000
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	85,992,000	80,402,000	82,842,000	80,351,000
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Per Basic Share	$ 0.14	$ 0.14	$ 0.38	$ 0.2
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Per Basic Share	$ 0.00	$ 0.00	$ 0.00	$ 0.00
Earnings Per Share, Basic	$ 0.14	$ 0.14	$ 0.38	$ 0.2
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations, Per Diluted Share	$ 0.14	$ 0.14	$ 0.37	$ 0.2
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Per Diluted Share	$ 0.00	$ 0.00	$ 0.00	$ 0.00
Earnings Per Share, Diluted	$ 0.14	$ 0.14	$ 0.37	$ 0.2
3.75% Senior Exchangeable Notes [Member]
Schedule of Components of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Number of Days in a Trading Period the Average Market Price of Common Stock Exceeds Exchange Price to be Dilutive			20
Number of Consecutive Trading Days in the Period for Determining the Dilutive Effect of Senior Exchangeable Notes			30
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Conversion Price	$ 17.83		$ 17.83