Town · Beaufort County, South Carolina

Bluffton, South Carolina

Bluffton is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, part of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area. It has 33,157 residents. Bluffton, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 74 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,105 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #19 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on loneliness (low), dentists (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), drought exposure (high) and homicide rate (high).

74High

Quality-of-life score: #4,105 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #19 of 268 in SC
Population: 33,157 (2020-2024)
Land area: 52 mi²
Density: 636.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 4507210

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety45#8,575/15,637
Economy88#1,939/15,631
Housing40#8,928/14,977
Health89#1,694/15,609
Healthcare56#6,957/15,650
Environment13#13,403/15,453
Education74#4,030/15,649
Infrastructure76#3,798/15,650
Community70#4,729/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,049/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bluffton, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Beaufort County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Loneliness · low27.7%
99/100South Carolina 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Dentists · high127 /100k
98/100South Carolina 60 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBeaufort County value
Restaurants and bars · high15.6 /10k
96/100South Carolina 9.7 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBeaufort County value
Comfortable days · high35.4%
95/100South Carolina 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBeaufort County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high8.7 /10k
93/100South Carolina 5.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBeaufort County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.1 /10k
93/100South Carolina 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBeaufort County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high99.3
0/100South Carolina 51.22025Federal Emergency Management AgencyBeaufort County value
Drought exposure · high80%
11/100South Carolina 72%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAABeaufort County value
Homicide rate · high7.0 /100k
17/100South Carolina 8.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBeaufort County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.470
18/100South Carolina 0.475United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Mental health care shortage · high17.0
24/100South Carolina 15.5United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBeaufort County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100South Carolina 0.4%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
20,799 (2015-2019) → 33,157 (2020-2024)
+59%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
45.1 /1k (2021) → 11.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−74%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$82,481 (2015-2019) → $111,281 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
45.8% (2015-2019) → 51.9% (2020-2024)
+6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.7% (2015-2019) → 96.7% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.5× (2015-2019) → 4.4× (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Bluffton, South Carolina improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Uninsured−3.8 points12.0% → 8.1%
Household income+35%$82,481 → $111,281
Broadband+6 points90.7% → 96.7%

Declined2

Inequality+0.0800.391 → 0.470
Price / income+0.9×3.5× → 4.4×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Bluffton, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.8 min2015-2019	28.3 min2020-2024	+2.5 min	Within the margin of error	23%
Bachelor's degree or higher	45.8%2015-2019	51.9%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Broadband subscriptions	90.7%2015-2019	96.7%2020-2024	+6 points	Improved	38%
Effective property tax rate	0.67%2015-2019	0.60%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
High school diploma or higher	94.7%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	4.4×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	26%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3912015-2019	0.4702020-2024	+0.080	Declined	8%
Median household income	$82,4812015-2019	$111,2812020-2024	+35%	Improved	65%
Poverty rate	3.9%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.1%2015-2019	30.0%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Rent-burdened households	50.3%2015-2019	50.0%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Unemployment rate	1.4%2015-2019	2.2%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.0%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Improved	81%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Bluffton, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bluffton, South Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Bluffton, South Carolina itself moved −4.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

33,157 residents (±35)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

12,987 households (±517)

Bluffton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k6.2%†804
$25k–50k9.2%1,190
$50k–75k12%1,501

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

12,987 households (±517)

Bluffton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own83%10,829
Rent17%2,158

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

15,591 workers (±846)

Bluffton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone75%11,616
Carpool8.7%†1,352
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Beaufort County, the county holding most of Bluffton's residents.

Beaufort County has 6,087 employer establishments, 305 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 1.34× South Carolina's), with 59,121 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,945. The Census Bureau also counts 22,315 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,087; 22,315 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 305; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 59,121
Average annual pay: $46,945; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Beaufort County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Lessors of real estate	594	29.7	2.41×More than typical	1,881	$56,385	3,153
Restaurants and other eating places	498	24.9	1.36×More than typical	9,595	$26,848	132
Specialty trade contractors	495	24.8	1.60×More than typical	2,422	$58,214	1,789
Ambulatory health care services	472	23.6	1.13×About typical	3,813	$60,691	877
Real estate agents and brokers	360	18	3.70×More than typical	661	$71,679	1,101
Full-service restaurants	303	15.2	1.98×More than typical	6,657	$29,472	77
Services to buildings and dwellings	297	14.9	2.21×More than typical	2,179	$44,119	1,979
Construction of buildings	243	12.2	1.61×More than typical	1,592	$62,398	585
Legal services	167	8.4	1.56×More than typical	677	$82,145	230
Clothing and accessories stores	166	8.3	2.29×More than typical	1,507	$24,815	163
Landscaping services	149	7.5	2.13×More than typical	1,239	$45,734	493
Offices of physicians	149	7.5	1.15×About typical	949	$77,400	216

Rank places for an industry Open Beaufort County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 199,700 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $54.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bluffton, South Carolina: $1.65 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $54.8K; +25% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.65; US $1,994
Sole-source: 64%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$24.6K45%
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acquisition and Property Management Division$17.4K32%
Department of the Navy$12.9K24%

Top recipients

HANGER PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS, INC.$24.6K45%
PALMETTO FIRE CONSULTANTS LLC$15.5K28%
OFFICEMOTIVE, INC.$12.9K24%
DONALD DOLINGER$1,9133.5%
PUBLIC PROPERTIES LLC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

-20.1KFY2017
196.1KFY2018
3.8KFY2019
44.8KFY2020
47KFY2021
58.4KFY2022
183.7KFY2023
110.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$24.6K45%
Investigation and security services · 5616$15.5K28%
Business support services · 5614$12.9K24%
Other personal services · 8129$1,9133.5%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Bluffton, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Bluffton, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Beaufort County, SC ($380.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Bluffton is mostly in Beaufort County.

See federal money in Beaufort County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Bluffton, South Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Nancy MaceR-SC-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 17.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Beaufort County72100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC76

Other cities and towns in Beaufort County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4507210

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends