Tarboro is located in Edgecombe County (of which it is the county seat) between Raleigh and Williamston along US Highway 64 on the banks of the Tar River near Rocky Mount, Wilson, and not far from the Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge.
Tarboro was incorporated in 1760 and is one of North Carolina's oldest towns. Major industries include food processing, plastics, fertilizer, textiles, and communications. It is also the center of one of North Carolina's finest agricultural areas, producing tobacco, cotton, peanuts, and corn.
Tarboro is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina metro area.