Beaufort, South Carolina

Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort, South Carolina
City
	Bay Street, Downtown Beaufort
	Seal
	Interactive map of Beaufort
	Beaufort Location within South Carolina Beaufort Location within the United States
	Coordinates: 32°26′N 80°41′W / 32.433°N 80.683°W
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Beaufort
Incorporated	1711
Named for	Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort
Government
• Mayor	Stephen Murray
Area
• City	25.32 sq mi (65.58 km2)
• Land	24.43 sq mi (63.28 km2)
• Water	0.89 sq mi (2.29 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population (2020)
• City	13,607
• Density	556.89/sq mi (215.01/km2)
• Urban	52,515 (US: 487th)
• Urban density	1,200.1/sq mi (463.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	29901-29907
Area codes	843, 854
FIPS code	45-04690
GNIS feature ID	1245003
Website	www.cityofbeaufort.org

Beaufort (/ˈbjuːfərt/ BEW-fert, different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina^[6]) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States.^[7] Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. Beaufort is known as the "Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands". The city's population was 13,607 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area.

Beaufort is located on Port Royal Island, in the heart of the Sea Islands and South Carolina Lowcountry. The city is renowned for its scenic location and for maintaining a historic character by preservation of its antebellum architecture. The prominent role of Beaufort and the surrounding Sea Islands during the Reconstruction era after the U.S. Civil War is memorialized by the Reconstruction Era National Monument, established in 2017. The city is also known for its military establishments, being located in close proximity to Parris Island and a U.S. naval hospital, in addition to being home of the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
^ United States Census Bureau (December 29, 2022). "2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications". Federal Register.
^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ Landphair, Ted (July 16, 2012). "Without Pierre". Ted Landphair's America. Voice of America. Retrieved July 23, 2012. There are two decent-sized port cities of the same name — Beaufort — on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. One, in North Carolina, is BOH-furt. The other, in South Carolina, is BYEW-furt. Yet they're both named after the same English duke. He was a BOH-furt.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.