Earnings Per Share of the Company (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc [Member]
Schedule of Components of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Parent	$ 15,327,000	$ 12,464,000	$ 35,172,000	$ 31,284,000
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	0	185,000	167,800	185,000
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Attributable to Parent		12,464,000		31,284,000
Undistributed Earnings Allocated to Participating Securities	(209,000)	(164,000)	(576,000)	(521,000)
Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic	15,118,000	12,300,000	34,596,000	30,763,000
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	92,674,000	85,171,000	91,359,000	82,020,000
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Notional Units	880,000	631,000	865,000	631,000
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Conversion of Debt Securities	0	118,000	0	118,000
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Share-based Payment Arrangements	93,000	72,000	78,000	73,000
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	93,647,000	85,992,000	92,302,000	82,842,000
Earnings Per Share, Basic	$ 0.16	$ 0.14	$ 0.38	$ 0.38
Earnings Per Share, Diluted	$ 0.16	$ 0.14	$ 0.37	$ 0.37
Senior Notes	547,964,000		547,964,000		547,763,000
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc [Member] | 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
Tanger Properties Limited Partnership [Member]
Schedule of Components of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Parent	16,163,000	14,194,000	37,487,000	35,853,000
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	0	46,250	41,950	46,250
Undistributed Earnings Allocated to Participating Securities	(209,000)	(164,000)	(576,000)	(521,000)
Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic	15,954,000	14,030,000	36,911,000	35,332,000
Senior Notes	547,964,000		547,964,000		547,763,000
Tanger Properties Limited Partnership [Member] | 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
Senior Notes	$ 0		$ 0