county

Beaufort County, NC

Demographic and economic profile of Beaufort County, NC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Beaufort County is a small, rural coastal county in eastern North Carolina with a population of 44,597 that has contracted by 5.6% over the past five years, reflecting broader outmigration pressures in the region. The labor force is limited, with a participation rate of just 55.3%, an unemployment rate of 5.4%, and only 20.6% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though worker costs remain low at a median earnings figure of $36,948. Housing is affordable—median home value of $181,200 and median rent of $859/month—with a high homeownership rate of 70.1%, set against a poverty rate of 18.0% and a median age of 47.7 years that points to an older, established resident base.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

44,597

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$58,357

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.7 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-5.6% since 2018

Beaufort County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone30,368 (68.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone10,166 (22.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,633 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races1,073 (2.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,016 (2.3%)
  • Asian Alone118 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,367
  2. 2.Vietnamese155
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic74
  4. 4.Other Indo-European55
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic34

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

25.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,361

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$40,035

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$33,912

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,608
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,811
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,175
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,896
  5. 5.Public Administration (Group)1,442

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations6,448
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations4,251
  3. 3.Service Occupations3,288
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,893
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,717

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.24×)692
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.48×)1,349
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.46×)2,801
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.40×)1,868
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.37×)1,245

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$181,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$859/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

69.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,490 (11.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,402 (10.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,258 (9.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,065 (7.9%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,023 (7.6%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,015 (7.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

55.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,948

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.8 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone15,931 (82.4%)
  • Worked At Home1,730 (8.9%)
  • Carpooled1,193 (6.2%)
  • Other231 (1.2%)
  • Walked228 (1.2%)
  • Public Transit16 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.