44,576 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.3% since 2020)
833 square miles of land · 54 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
7 active community water systems list Beaufort County in the area they serve, reporting 50,394 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| BEAUFORT CO NORTHSIDE REGIONAL WATER buys groundwater · local government · NC0407035 | 22,405 served |
| WASHINGTON, CITY OF groundwater · local government · NC0407010 | 13,000 served |
| BEAUFORT CO SOUTHSIDE groundwater · local government · NC0407040 | 9,369 served |
| CHOCOWINITY WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · NC0407025 | 2,565 served |
| BELHAVEN WATER SYSTEM groundwater · local government · NC0407015 | 1,960 served |
| AURORA WATER SYSTEM buys groundwater · local government · NC0407020 | 805 served |
| BATH WATER SYSTEM buys groundwater · local government · NC0407030 | 290 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 52 people were held in Beaufort County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 201 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 71.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Beaufort County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $87.7 million — $82.2 million to run schools, about $13,751 per student, plus $4.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.7 million local (mostly property tax), $48 million state, $20 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.3 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Beaufort County about $54.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
156 bridges in Beaufort County: 84 in good condition, 60 fair, and 12 poor (7.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US17 BUS over DIRT · built 1928 | 12,500 vehicles a day |
| NC33 over CHOCOWINITY CREEK · built 1964 | 8,300 vehicles a day |
| US264 over PUNGO RIVER · built 1956 | 2,200 vehicles a day |
| SR1126 over MORRIS RUN · built 1993 | 600 vehicles a day |
| SR1126 over CHOCOWINITY CREEK · built 1993 | 600 vehicles a day |
| SR1112 over BLOUNTS CREEK · built 1990 | 550 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $8.5 million of work in Beaufort County in fiscal 2025, about $191 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-09. Early voting: 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-31. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-20. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: NC State Board of Elections: upcoming election · NC State Board of Elections: vote in person · NC State Board of Elections: voter ID
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Beaufort County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Beaufort County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of North Carolina: the state government and every county in North Carolina.
Nearby counties: Pamlico County (25 mi) · Craven County (29 mi) · Washington County (29 mi) · Martin County (30 mi) · Pitt County (31 mi) · Hyde County (39 mi).