Beaufort is located at 32°25'55?N 80°41'22?W (32.431853, -80.689515).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city is amid a marshy estuary, and has a total area of 23.4 square miles (60.7 km²), of which, 18.6 square miles (48.2 km²) of it is land and 4.8 square miles (12.5 km²) of it (20.57%) is water.