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Home / North Carolina / Carteret County

34.861° N, 76.536° W508 sq mi of landChecked 2026-11-13

Carteret County

Zone 8b, 249 frost-free days, farmland at $2,231 an acre. Top hazard: hurricane.

5.0 out of 10 overall, #55 of 100 NC counties with every factor weighted equally. Re-rank with your own weights

Gold suns: MeshCore repeaters heard in the last 30 days. Ruby X: the spot farthest from any repeater (54 km).

Scores out of 10, compared with the other 99 NC counties

  • 7.2Land cost
  • 9.6Rain
  • 6.7Sun
  • 6.4Growing
  • 6.3Rules
  • 6.9Clean
  • 0.6Hazards
  • 0.9Farm country
  • 0.4Mesh

Land and living costs

Farmland and buildings, per acre (2022)$2,231 source
Median home value$304,200 source
Median rent$1,062/mo source
People68,652 source
Farms (2022)94 source

Growing food

Hardiness zone8b (8a–9a across the county) source
Last spring frost (typical)Mar 18 source
First fall frost (typical)Nov 21 source
Frost-free days249 source
Rain, April–September34.1 in source
April–September
Rain, whole year58.3 in source
Prime farmland21% of soils source
includes 'prime if drained/irrigated/protected'
July average high / January average low88.4°F / 36°F source

Frost dates and season length come from the Morehead City 2 Wnw weather station: the 50% chance date for 32°F.

County rules: RVs, tiny homes, animals

Zoning: Zoning covers only part of the county. County zoning districts cover only part of the unincorporated county (the ordinance itself refers to 'un-zoned areas'), and the Down East area falls under the separate Down East Conservation Ordinance; the county's Manufactured Home/RV Park Ordinance applies in all unincorporated areas. Carteret County Code, Appendix C Zoning Ordinance §§ 1005, 1008, 1607

These are rules for county land outside town limits. Towns have their own. Read on 2026-11-13.

Living in an RV on your landWith conditions

Under the county MH/RV ordinance (all unincorporated land, zoned or not), an occupied RV outside an RV park is allowed only during construction of a home (max 9 months), after a disaster, or on a parcel of 1 acre or more (setbacks 20/15/30 ft, anchored after 2 weeks, one RV per parcel). The rule is written for occupancy of fewer than 180 consecutive days.

“Recreational vehicles for temporary occupancy (fewer than 180 consecutive days)shall not be allowed on individual lots, except for:”

Appendix A, Art. IV §§ 4.2–4.4; Appendix C § 3113, read 2026-11-13

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

Tiny house on wheelsWith conditions

Not named. A wheeled tiny home would fall under the RV / travel trailer definitions ('portable, temporary dwelling'), so the RV rules above apply.

“Travel trailer: A portable, temporary dwelling to be used for travel, recreation, and vacation”

Appendix A § 3.2 definitions, read 2026-11-13

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

Small house on a foundationAllowed

Single-family detached dwellings are permitted in RA, R-35, R-20, R-15, R-15M, R-10 and R-5W; must be built to the NC Residential Building Code. No minimum floor area in the zoning text; RA minimum lot is 50,000 sq ft.

“A building, or portion thereof, designed and constructed for use as one dwelling unit built according to the provisions of the N.C. Residential Building Code”

Appendix C § 3400 table; § 1102 'Dwelling, single-family'; § 3002, read 2026-11-13

State law: farm buildings outside town limits skip the building code (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-138(b4)).

State law: homes on 10+ acres in farm districts (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(b)).

State law: building permits (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-1110).

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

ChickensWith conditions

Poultry is covered only as 'Agricultural use (aka bona fide farm)', permitted in every district, and the ordinance defines a farm as at least three acres. Backyard poultry on smaller lots is not listed, and the use table says unlisted uses are not permitted. Un-zoned areas are not covered by this table. (The same definition lists 'livestock (domestic) or poultry'.)

“Any tract of land containing at least three acres which is used for dairying or the raising of agricultural products”

Appendix C § 1102 'Bona fide farm'; § 3400 table, read 2026-11-13

State law: real farms are exempt from county zoning (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)).

State law: right to farm (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-701(a)).

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

Goats and livestockWith conditions

Stables (public or private) are permitted in RA and the R districts; § 1625 applies to herbivores and large birds even with no structure: 1-acre minimum, one animal per acre (more on 3+ acres with a home), sturdy fencing, barns 50 ft from property lines. Livestock on 3+ acres also fits the farm definition.

“The minimum parcel size is one acre.”

Appendix C § 1625 Stables; § 3400 table, read 2026-11-13

State law: real farms are exempt from county zoning (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)).

State law: right to farm (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-701(a)).

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

BeesNot addressed

Read the zoning definitions (§ 1102), use table (§ 3400), supplementary regulations (§ 1600) and Animals chapter (Ch. 3); bees, hives and apiaries are not mentioned.

Appendix C §§ 1102, 1600, 3400; Code Ch. 3, read 2026-11-13

State law: real farms are exempt from county zoning (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-903(a), (a1)).

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

Composting toiletNot addressed

No composting toilet provision found in the zoning ordinance or the MH/RV ordinance; the MH ordinance requires connection to public sewer or septic for manufactured homes only.

Appendix A; Appendix C, read 2026-11-13

State law: composting toilets are allowed, but you still need a septic permit (15A NCAC 18E .1001 (eff. Oct. 1, 2021)).

Confirm with Carteret County before you buy land or build.

What we couldn't confirm
  • Which parts of the unincorporated county are un-zoned was not mapped; rules for chickens, goats and dwellings above apply only inside zoned districts.
  • The Down East Conservation Ordinance (Appendix E) was not read; land in that area may follow different rules.
  • Appendix A § 4.2 is written for RV occupancy under 180 consecutive days; whether year-round RV living on a 1+ acre parcel is allowed is not stated.
  • § 1625 reads 'herbivores and birds heavier than 50 pounds'; whether the 50-lb threshold also applies to goats is ambiguous.

What breaks here

13 federal disaster declarations covered Carteret County in the last 10 years: 7 hurricane, 3 tropical storm, 2 biological, 1 winter storm. source

FEMA's biggest risks for the county: hurricane (very high), winter weather (relatively high), coastal flooding (relatively high). source

Gear that answers it

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Mesh radio coverage

MeshCore radios heard (30 days)0 source
Repeaters0 source
County near a repeater4% source
share of the county within 10 km of an active repeater — a rough line-of-sight guess, not a measured signal
Nearest repeater to the county centre22.5 km source
from the county centre

Most of Carteret County is out of range. A solar repeater on high ground near the red X would cover the biggest gap. Solar repeater kits

Data: MeshCore map. Coverage assumes about 10 km per repeater; real range depends on height and terrain. State gap map

Animals nearby

Livestock already in the county is a fair sign of feed stores, vets and neighbours who know how.

Laying hens445 source
Goats105 source
Cattle392 source
Hogswithheld by USDA to avoid disclosing individual farms source
Bee colonies17 source

Clean ground, sun and power

Active Superfund sitesNone source
Toxics Release Inventory facilities7 source
facilities registered with EPA's Toxics Release Inventory, active or open status
FEMA overall riskRelatively Moderate source
Sun, kWh per m² per day4.45 source
Public EV charging stations13 source

Rooftop solar credit depends on your utility. Duke Energy customers: see the state rules on the North Carolina page.

Nearby counties

CountyOverallZoneFarmland $/acre
Pamlico6.28b$3,222
Craven6.28b$3,063
Hyde5.68b$3,814
Beaufort5.38b$4,329
Jones6.68b$3,602
Onslow5.18a$6,189