Beaufort County, North Carolina

Beaufort County, North Carolina
Beaufort County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded	1739
Named for	Henry, Duke of Beaufort
Seat	Washington
Largest city	Washington
Area
• Total	958 sq mi (2,481 km2)
• Land	827 sq mi (2,142 km2)
• Water	131 sq mi (339 km2), 14%
Population
• (2010)	47,759
• Density	58/sq mi (22/km²)
Congressional districts	1st, 3rd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.co.beaufort.nc.us

Beaufort County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 47,759. Its county seat is Washington. The county was founded in 1705 as Pamptecough Precinct. Originally included in Bath County, it was renamed Beaufort Precinct in 1712 and became Beaufort County in 1739.

Beaufort County comprises the Washington, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Greenville-Washington, NC Combined Statistical Area.

Beaufort County was first called Pamptecough. The name was changed about 1712 to Beaufort, named for Henry Somerset-Scudamore, 3rd Duke of Beaufort, who became one of Carolina's Lords Proprietor around 1709.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 958 square miles (2,480 km²), of which 827 square miles (2,140 km²) is land and 131 square miles (340 km²) (14%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in North Carolina by total area.

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,958 people, 18,319 households, and 12,951 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 22,139 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.44% White, 29.03% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.42% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 3.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.