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 4,804 people and three associated neighborhoods, Beaufort is the 182nd largest community in North Carolina. There's nothing like the smell of a brand new house, and in Beaufort, you'll find that a large proportion of houses were recently built. New growth in residential real estate is an indication that people are choosing to move to Beaufort, and putting down their money on brand new construction. Beaufort’s real estate is, on average, some of the newest in the nation. Beaufort does seem to be experiencing an influx of affluent people, because the median household income is $48,111.00.

Beaufort home prices are not only among the most expensive in North Carolina, but Beaufort real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

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.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Beaufort spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.52 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the town are less than they would otherwise be.

The education level of Beaufort citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 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.