Beaufort is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of North Carolina. With a population of 4,895 people and three associated neighborhoods, Beaufort is the 182nd largest community in North Carolina. Beaufort has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Beaufort, where the median household income is $48,111.00. Beaufort real estate is some of the most expensive in North Carolina, although Beaufort house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Beaufort is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Beaufort is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Beaufort who work in sales jobs (12.22%), management occupations (11.56%), and office and administrative support (10.94%). Of important note, Beaufort is also a town of artists. Beaufort has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Beaufort’s character. Also of interest is that Beaufort has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 17.83% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. One of the nice things about Beaufort is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.52 minutes getting to work every day.The citizens of Beaufort are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 35.96% of adults in Beaufort have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Beaufort in 2022 was $37,018, which is upper middle income relative to North Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $148,072 for a family of four. However, Beaufort contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Beaufort is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Beaufort home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Beaufort residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Beaufort include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Beaufort is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.
