Welcome to Beaufort ...
The city of Beaufort is located in Beaufort County<1> and is the County Seat for Beaufort County.
The pronunciation of Beaufort: BYOO-fort<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Beaufort, you might consider that their post office opened in 1794.
When the people of Beaufort refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Beaufortian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Beaufort has a population of 13,217 people<4> (see below for details).
Beaufort is near sea level<5>.
Time Zone: Beaufort lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Beaufort is within the boundaries of the (843) area code.
The ZIP codes for Beaufort: 29901-29907<6>
Websites for Beaufort ...
Official Website: www.cityofbeaufort.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.beaufortsc.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Beaufort had an population of 13,217 people. This is an increase of 6.93% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 2.06% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Beaufort had a population of 12,361 people (which is 7.62% of the total population of Beaufort County). This makes Beaufort the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Beaufort represents 0.27% of the total population of South Carolina (which has 4,625,364 people), making it the state's 32nd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 12,361 people, the population of Beaufort decreased 4.55% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 12,950 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Beaufort.
Communities Also Named Beaufort ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two South Carolina communities named Beaufort: This one is located in Beaufort County and the other is located in Lancaster County.
Beyond South Carolina, there are 7 communities that are also named Beaufort - they are located in Michigan, Missouri, New Brunswick, New Jersey, North Carolina and Quebec.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Beaufort.
Communities near Beaufort ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Beaufort.
- Hilton Head Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Head Island
- Hilton Head Island is located in Beaufort County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,619 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hilton Head Island <7>
- Bluffton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
- Bluffton is located in Beaufort County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,230 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bluffton <7>
- Ridgeland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Ridgeland is located in Jasper County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,868 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ridgeland <7>
- Battery Marina Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Battery Marina Village have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battery Marina Village
- Battery Marina Village is located in Beaufort County
- Shell Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Point have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Point
- Shell Point is located in Beaufort County
- Laurel Bay
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Bay
- Laurel Bay is located in Beaufort County
- Dale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Dale is located in Beaufort County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dale <7>
- Lobeco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobeco
- Lobeco is located in Beaufort County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lobeco <7>
- Seabrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seabrook
- Seabrook is located in Beaufort County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seabrook <7>
- Sheldon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Sheldon is located in Beaufort County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheldon <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Beaufort. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Beaufort.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Beaufort. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Beaufort.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Beaufort. Our list includes 20 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Beaufort.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Beaufort ...
Looking for more information about Beaufort? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Beaufort, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Beaufort.
Adding Beaufort to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Beaufort in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Beaufort was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Beaufort post office opened in 1794.
We also found Beaufort in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Beaufort.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Beaufort: www.cityofbeaufort.org/
The official website for Beaufort County: www.co.beaufort.sc.us/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of South Carolina's counties, including Beaufort, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Beaufort. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Beaufort refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Beaufort may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Beaufort. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Beaufort - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Beaufort). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Beaufort or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Beaufort includes: 29901, 29902, 29903, 29904, 29905, 29906 & 29907. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |