Economic Development

ABOUT CARTERET COUNTY — THE CRYSTAL COAST

Carteret County is located on the coast of North Carolina and comes with some great benefits!

If you’re looking for low property rates and beautiful living, choose Carteret County! We’ve consistently had the lowest county property tax rates in all of North Carolina. We also have one of the highest-ranked school systems in North Carolina with the second-highest average SAT and ACT scores in 2020.

When it comes to healthcare, we have one of the best performing rural hospitals in the United States and the only Mayo Clinic Care network affiliated hospital in North Carolina. We have also enjoyed a partnership with the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UNC Cancer Care.

For those interested in marine sciences, Carteret County is home to one of the largest concentrations of marine scientists and researchers in all the United States. We’re proud to be the home of the Duke University Marine Laboratory, the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences, the North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Beaufort Laboratory, plus other marine sciences and fisheries research facilities.

MISSION

The Carteret County Economic Development Department provides an integrated approach to programs and services necessary to support local business, increase employment opportunities, encourage residential growth, and increase the County’s tax base to help our businesses grow and compete in today’s economy. We also foster relocation and expansion services to make the start-up as smooth as possible.

WE DO THIS BY:

• Marketing Carteret County to relocate and expand business
• Providing up-to-date research data regarding population, workforce, wages and area population
• Identifying relevant incentive, grant and workforce training programs for your business
• Introducing businesses to financial contacts and strategic partners
• Assisting your business in recruiting the talent it needs through partnerships with NCWORKS and Carteret Community College