Beaufort, South Carolina

For the county, see Beaufort County, South Carolina.
Not to be confused with Beaufort, North Carolina.

Beaufort, South Carolina
City
Bay Street, Downtown Beaufort
Bay Street, Downtown Beaufort
Official seal of Beaufort, South Carolina
Seal
Map
Interactive map of Beaufort
Beaufort is located in South Carolina
Beaufort
Beaufort
Location within South Carolina
Beaufort is located in the United States
Beaufort
Beaufort
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 32°26′N 80°41′W / 32.433°N 80.683°W / 32.433; -80.683
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Carolina
CountyBeaufort
Incorporated1711
Named forHenry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort
Government
 • MayorStephen Murray
Area
[1]
 • City25.32 sq mi (65.58 km2)
 • Land24.43 sq mi (63.28 km2)
 • Water0.89 sq mi (2.29 km2)
Elevation
10 ft (3 m)
Population
 (2020)[3]
 • City13,607
 • Density556.89/sq mi (215.01/km2)
 • Urban
52,515 (US: 487th)[2]
 • Urban density1,200.1/sq mi (463.3/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
29901-29907
Area codes843, 854
FIPS code45-04690[4]
GNIS feature ID1245003[5]
Websitewww.cityofbeaufort.org

Beaufort (/ˈbjuːfərt/ BEW-fərt, different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina)[6] is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States.[7] Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. Beaufort is known as the "Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands". The city's population was 13,607 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area.

Beaufort is located on Port Royal Island, in the heart of the Sea Islands and South Carolina Lowcountry. The city is renowned for its scenic location and for maintaining a historic character by preservation of its antebellum architecture. The prominent role of Beaufort and the surrounding Sea Islands during the Reconstruction era after the U.S. Civil War is memorialized by the Reconstruction Era National Monument, established in 2017. The city is also known for its military establishments, being located in close proximity to Parris Island and a U.S. naval hospital, in addition to being home of the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  2. ^ United States Census Bureau (December 29, 2022). "2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications". Federal Register.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  6. ^ Landphair, Ted (July 16, 2012). "Without Pierre". Ted Landphair's America. Voice of America. Retrieved July 23, 2012. There are two decent-sized port cities of the same name — Beaufort — on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. One, in North Carolina, is BOH-furt. The other, in South Carolina, is BYEW-furt. Yet they're both named after the same English duke. He was a BOH-furt.
  7. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.