County Maps US

Carteret County, North Carolina

A county in North Carolina, ranked 40 of 100 by population.

CountyFIPS 37031

Within North Carolina
Carteret County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Beaufort, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
70,469
+2,777 (+4.1%) since 2020
Land area
507.6
square miles. A further 61.8% of the total area is water
Population density
139
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Beaufort
Seat of county government.
Established
1722
303 years ago
Largest city
Morehead City town
Population 10,434.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Carteret County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Carteret County, North Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 459 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Carteret County ranks

Position among the 100 counties of North Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn North CarolinaNationally
Population70,46940th of 100787th of 3,144
Land area507.6 sq mi41st of 1002,046th of 3,144
Population density139 per sq mi45th of 100733rd of 3,144
Median household income$72,32221st of 1001,024th of 3,143

Full data for Carteret County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population70,469Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202067,692Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?67,679Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area507.6 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area822.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,330 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?139 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$72,322American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$333,300American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age50.5American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households31,977American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units52,181American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-498
491 births, 989 deaths
Net migration
+759
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 5 areas bordering Carteret County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Craven CountyNorth Carolina34 mi105,025
Pamlico CountyNorth Carolina28 mi12,758
Hyde CountyNorth Carolina24 mi4,554
Onslow CountyNorth Carolina20 mi217,175
Jones CountyNorth Carolina9.4 mi9,575

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 100 counties of North Carolina

Open the interactive North Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.