Carteret County, North Carolina
County seat: Beaufort · Population 70,469 (2025) · 508 sq mi
Carteret County is the 40th most populous of North Carolina's 100 counties, with 70,469 people (2025 estimate). Its county seat is Beaufort. It is part of the Southeast Region region, one of the 8 Prosperity Zones of North Carolina. The map shows its 11 cities and towns and the 5 neighboring counties.
Carteret County facts
- County seat
- Beaufort
- Population (2025 estimate)
- 70,469 +4.1% since 2020
- Land area
- 508 sq mi 41st largest of 100
- Water area
- 823 sq mi
- Population density
- 139 per sq mi
- Established
- 1722
- Named after
- George Carteret British Royalist politician and colonial proprietor of New Jersey (1610-1679)
- Largest city
- Morehead City 10,434
- Median household income
- $72,322
- Cities and towns
- 11 plus 7 CDPs
- ZIP codes
- 19
- Time zone
- Eastern
- FIPS code
- 37031
Cities and towns in Carteret County
Carteret County has 11 incorporated cities, towns and villages. Populations count the people living inside Carteret County; cities that cross a county line also list the other counties.
| Name | Type | Population 2025 | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morehead City | Town | 10,434 | |
| Beaufort (county seat) | Town | 4,912 | |
| Newport | Town | 4,500 | |
| Emerald Isle | Town | 3,970 | |
| Cape Carteret | Town | 2,273 | |
| Cedar Point | Town | 1,825 | |
| Pine Knoll Shores | Town | 1,423 | |
| Atlantic Beach | Town | 1,408 | |
| Peletier | Town | 803 | |
| Bogue | Town | 706 | |
| Indian Beach | Town | 231 |
Unincorporated communities (CDPs)
Census-designated places are communities without their own city government; the county provides their services.
| Community | Population | Also in |
|---|---|---|
| Broad Creek | 1,836 | |
| Brandywine Bay | 1,313 | |
| Harkers Island | 1,060 | |
| Atlantic | 522 | |
| Marshallberg | 398 | |
| Gloucester | 385 | |
| Davis | 261 |
ZIP codes in Carteret County
19 ZIP codes reach into Carteret County. ZIP codes ignore county lines, so some also cover a neighboring county.
- 28511
- 28512
- 28516
- 28520
- 28524
- 28528
- 28531
- 28553
- 28555 also Onslow and Jones counties
- 28557
- 28570
- 28575
- 28577
- 28579
- 28581
- 28582 also Onslow County
- 28584 also Onslow County
- 28589
- 28594
Population of Carteret County, 2020–2025
Carteret County grew by 2,790 people (+4.1%) between April 2020 and July 2025: 2,695 more deaths than births and a net gain of 5,498 people from migration.
| Year (July 1) | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 67,692 |
| 2021 | 68,695 |
| 2022 | 69,335 |
| 2023 | 69,646 |
| 2024 | 70,215 |
| 2025 | 70,469 |
Neighboring counties
- Craven County northwest · 105,025 people
- Pamlico County north · 12,758 people
- Hyde County northeast · 4,554 people
- Onslow County west · 217,175 people
- Jones County west · 9,575 people
Printable Carteret County map
The PDF is a vector file with real text: it prints sharp on Letter paper and you can search it for a town. The PNG is 2400 pixels wide for slides and documents. Both are free to use with a credit to WhichCounty.
- PDF (Letter) (141 KB)
- PNG (2400 px) (112 KB)
Paste this code to embed the map on your site:
Sources
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000).
- Population: Census Bureau county and city estimates, Vintage 2025. CDP populations: American Community Survey 2020–2024.
- Places and ZIP codes: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer and 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area relationship files.
- County seat, founding year and name origin: Wikidata (CC0), checked against state sources.
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