In which U.S. state is the fictional town of Mayberry located?

The fictional town of Mayberry is located in North Carolina. It is the small Southern community where Sheriff Andy Taylor, Deputy Barney Fife, Aunt Bee, and Opie live in The Andy Griffith Show.

The series identifies Mayberry as a North Carolina town, and its setting draws heavily on the state’s geography and culture. Andy Griffith grew up in Mount Airy, North Carolina, which is widely regarded as an important real-life inspiration for Mayberry. The nearby fictional town of Mount Pilot also echoes the region around Griffith’s hometown and Pilot Mountain.

Mayberry is not Tennessee, Virginia, or South Carolina, although those neighboring states can seem plausible because the show uses a broadly Appalachian or Piedmont Southern atmosphere. There is also a real community named Mayberry in Virginia, but that is separate from the fictional television setting. The sitcom’s Mayberry appeared in the original series, its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D., and the 1986 reunion film Return to Mayberry.