Beaufort keeps its history within walking distance of the water, so most of what you would want to see sits inside a few blocks. The historic district went onto the National Register in 1969 and was raised to National Historic Landmark in 1973, recognized for its antebellum architecture, its Civil War and Reconstruction history and its African American history. The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park has made its home in the old firehouse on Craven Street, and a short walk away the Robert Smalls House stands on Prince Street, a National Historic Landmark that is still somebody’s home, so you take that one in from the sidewalk. At the foot of Bay Street, Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park opens the whole town onto the river, and the green runs down to the water.
It is a town people live in all year. Of the 5,947 homes the Census counted here in 2020, 216 were held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, four in a hundred. On the barrier islands east of here that figure runs past sixty.
It is also filling up. The Census counted 13,607 residents in 2020 and the Bureau’s estimate for July 2025 was 15,775, sixteen percent higher in five years. What we handle here is mostly single family, with townhouses through the newer developments and a scattering of building lots, and the newer stock is where most of that growth has gone.
Steady work is what keeps the town full through the year. Beaufort Memorial Hospital, the school district and county government all appear in Beaufort County’s 2024 principal-employers table, and three military installations sit close at hand: Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Naval Hospital Beaufort. Beaufort County School District serves the city.
Getting in and out is straightforward. US 21 Business crosses the river on the Woods Memorial Bridge to Lady’s Island, and SC 170 runs out to US 278 and on to I-95 at Exit 8. Our Beaufort office is on Carteret Street, in the middle of all of it.
Sourced: population and housing units, U.S. Census Bureau 2020 count and Vintage 2025 estimate. Historic district listing and landmark dates, National Park Service. Visitor center and Robert Smalls House addresses and private status, National Park Service. Employers, Beaufort County 2024 principal-employers table, which is countywide rather than city only. Seasonal use, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics file, table H5, vacancy status. Housing character, our own listing and sales records rather than a measure of the town’s whole housing stock. Routes, National Park Service directions and SCDOT.