Note: As defined by the US Census Bureau, a city's official boundaries often extend miles beyond the city itself and may even cross county lines. As such, several thousand US cities officially exist in two or more counties (and therefore appear on multiple counties' lists of cities.)
City | Rank | 2024 Pop. | 2020 Pop. | Change | Density (/mi²) | Area (mi²) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morehead City | 1 | 9,958 | 9,578 | 0.96% | 1,344 | 7.4 | Town |
| Beaufort | 2 | 4,914 | 4,472 | 2.29% | 966 | 5.1 | Town |
| Newport | 3 | 4,534 | 4,372 | 0.89% | 590 | 7.7 | Town |
| Emerald Isle | 4 | 4,006 | 3,846 | 1.01% | 814 | 4.9 | Town |
| Cape Carteret | 5 | 2,283 | 2,230 | 0.57% | 905 | 2.5 | Town |
| Broad Creek | 6 | 1,960 | 2,306 | -1.31% | 631 | 3.1 | CDP |
| Cedar Point | 7 | 1,826 | 1,776 | 0.66% | 818 | 2.2 | Town |
| Brandywine Bay | 8 | 1,562 | 1,322 | 7.65% | 1,938 | 0.8 | CDP |
| Pine Knoll Shores | 9 | 1,439 | 1,385 | 0.91% | 651 | 2.2 | Town |
| Atlantic Beach | 10 | 1,417 | 1,376 | 0.71% | 595 | 2.4 | Town |
| Harkers Island | 11 | 1,087 | 1,314 | -0.73% | 485 | 2.2 | CDP |
| Peletier | 12 | 798 | 770 | 0.89% | 221 | 3.6 | Town |
| Bogue | 13 | 713 | 692 | 0.71% | 260 | 2.7 | Town |
| Atlantic | 14 | 532 | 608 | -0.19% | 578 | 0.9 | CDP |
| Gloucester | 15 | 501 | 484 | -0.4% | 349 | 1.4 | CDP |
| Marshallberg | 16 | 434 | 412 | 0.46% | 681 | 0.6 | CDP |
| Davis | 17 | 250 | 226 | -4.94% | 115 | 2.2 | CDP |
| Indian Beach | 18 | 230 | 222 | 0.88% | 404 | 0.6 | Town |
Note: City markers shown outside the county boundary mean that a part of the city extends into this county, but is primarily located in an adjacent county.
Morehead City is the largest city in Carteret County.
Indian Beach is the smallest city in Carteret County.
There are 18 cities in Carteret County, North Carolina.