Beaufort, North Carolina

Not to be confused with Beaufort, South Carolina or Beaufort County, North Carolina.

Beaufort, North Carolina
Town
Downtown Beaufort
Downtown Beaufort
Flag of Beaufort, North Carolina
Flag
Official seal of Beaufort, North Carolina
Seal
Location of Beaufort, North Carolina
Location of Beaufort, North Carolina
Coordinates: 34°43′21″N 76°39′01″W / 34.72250°N 76.65028°W / 34.72250; -76.65028
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Carolina
CountyCarteret
Named forHenry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort
Area
[1]
 • Total
7.84 sq mi (20.31 km2)
 • Land5.09 sq mi (13.17 km2)
 • Water2.75 sq mi (7.13 km2)
Elevation
[2]
3 ft (0.9 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
4,464
 • Density877.53/sq mi (338.82/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code
28516
Area code252
FIPS code37-04260[3]
GNIS feature ID2405222[2]
Websitewww.beaufortnc.org

Beaufort (/ˈboʊfərt/ BOH-fərt, different than that of Beaufort, South Carolina)[4] is a town in and the county seat of Carteret County, North Carolina, United States.[5] Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina (after Bath, New Bern and Edenton).[6][7] On February 1, 2012, Beaufort was ranked as "America's Coolest Small Town" by readers of Budget Travel Magazine.[8]

The population was 4,464 at the 2020 census.[9] It is sometimes confused with a city of the same name in South Carolina; the two are distinguished by different pronunciations.[4]

Beaufort is located in North Carolina's "Inner Banks" region. The town is home to the North Carolina Maritime Museum, the Duke University Marine Laboratory (Nicholas School of the Environment), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research. It is also the location of the Rachel Carson Reserve, part of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve system.[10]

  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Beaufort, North Carolina
  3. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  6. ^ "Town of Beaufort". Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  7. ^ "A Brief History of Beaufort, North Carolina". Beaufort Business Association. Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
  8. ^ "America's Coolest Small Towns". Budget Travel Magazine. February 2012. Archived from the original on February 2, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  9. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Beaufort town, North Carolina". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  10. ^ Rachel Carson Archived November 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine from North Carolina Coastal Reserve