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Beaufort County health assessment highlights poverty, access and behavioral-health gaps
Summary
Health staff presented the county's 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, saying population estimates are down since 2010 and that top health challenges include heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, and behavioral-health issues. The assessment identifies four priority focus areas and flags poverty and lower primary-care access as key drivers of poor
Beaufort County health staff on Tuesday presented the county’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, telling commissioners the report identifies access to care, behavioral health, chronic conditions and family-community support as the top priorities for local action.
Danielle, a health department presenter, told the board Beaufort County’s population estimate is 43,912 and has fallen on average about 0.6% per year since 2010. The assessment shows heart disease, cancer, COVID-19 and cerebrovascular disease as the top four causes of death for 2019–2023, Danielle said.
The report also highlights economic and access barriers: the county median household income is $53,044, below the North Carolina median of $64,316, and 16.4% of county households live below the federal poverty level, higher than state and national rates. Danielle said transportation is a practical barrier to care — 5.8% of households lack a motor vehicle and the county lacks full public transit — and the leading reported barriers to care were cost, lack of insurance and transportation.
On behavioral health, the assessment points to an opioid-overdose rate cited at 33.2 (compared with 25.1 statewide), and survey respondents ranked alcohol and drug addiction, diabetes, and mental health/depression/anxiety among the county’s top health problems. The assessment also notes mental-health provider availability is lower in the county than statewide.
Danielle said chronic disease is widespread: six in 10 residents live with at least one chronic condition, and eight in 10 deaths in North Carolina are related to chronic disease. The assessment added a new focus this year on family, community and social supports; focus groups cited the rising cost of living and lack of well-paying jobs as contributors to health strain and reliance on informal supports.
The full report is about 150 pages. Staff said an infographic and the full report are available on the county website and that the county has five years of recent assessments available online for trend analysis.
Commissioners asked about population trends and census response rates; one commissioner urged residents to complete the census to ensure accurate representation and funding allocation. Staff acknowledged the assessment’s limits and said the county will continue to update work with partners and use the findings to guide grant-seeking and program design.
