Scores by category

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

Safety45#8,575/15,637
Economy56#6,930/15,631
Housing35#9,716/14,977
Health67#5,098/15,609
Healthcare55#6,983/15,650
Environment13#13,403/15,453
Education37#9,840/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,375/15,650
Community67#5,214/15,651
Leisure & amenities93#1,049/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Burton, 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

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
Students per teacher · low11.3×
92/100South Carolina 13.8×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education 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
Food insecurity · high24.2%
17/100South Carolina 18.3%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
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
Child poverty rate · high22.5%
19/100South Carolina 18.1%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Lack of reliable transportation · high11.6%
21/100South Carolina 9.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
9,097 (2015-2019) → 6,912 (2020-2024)
−24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
65.0% (2015-2019) → 92.2% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.1% (2015-2019) → 47.7% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.4× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateImproving
8.9% (2015-2019) → 1.0% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
16.9% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
−7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Burton, South Carolina improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Improved1

Broadband+27 points65.0% → 92.2%

Declined1

Price / income+1.2×2.4× → 3.6×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Burton, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.2 min2015-2019	25.7 min2020-2024	+1.6 min	Within the margin of error	31%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.1%2015-2019	18.8%2020-2024	+5.8 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Broadband subscriptions	65.0%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	+27 points	Improved	97%
Effective property tax rate	0.78%2015-2019	0.55%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	64%
High school diploma or higher	87.7%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	15%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3812015-2019	0.3652020-2024	−0.016	Within the margin of error	65%
Median household income	$54,0122015-2019	$68,0632020-2024	+26%	Within the margin of error	46%
Poverty rate	14.1%2015-2019	12.1%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Rent as share of income	25.1%2015-2019	29.4%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Rent-burdened households	37.1%2015-2019	47.7%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	16.9%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	−7.4 points	Within the margin of error	93%

“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 Burton, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Burton, 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, Burton, South Carolina itself moved −0.6 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

6,912 residents (±1,381)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 men (−5.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

6,912 residents (±1,381)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

White50%3,429
Black38%2,610
Hispanic or Latino3.4%†234

Education

4,769 residents (±903)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

No high school diploma9.6%†460
High school or GED41%1,975
Some college24%†1,168

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

2,874 households (±423)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k20%†567
$25k–50k17%†485
$50k–75k21%†590
$75k–100k19%†555
$100k–150k16%†459
$150k–200k6.4%†184
$200k or more1.2%†34

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,874 households (±423)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own60%1,729
Rent40%†1,145

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,041 households (±332)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $75013%†134
$750–1,00014%†145
$1,000–1,50032%†

Home values

1,729 homes (±307)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $150k35%†597
$150k–250k16%†275
$250k–400k31%†536

Age of homes

3,061 homes (±405)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

2010 or later5.2%†160
2000–200920%†605
1980–199952%1,596

Size of homes

3,061 homes (±405)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom4.1%†127
2 bedrooms22%†678

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,610 workers (±933)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone77%2,771
Carpool15%†535
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.4%†14
Bike0.0%0
Work from home7.6%†273
Other0.5%†17

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−9.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

3,337 workers (±904)

Burton, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under 15 min22%†736
15–29 min42%†1,397
30–44 min18%†615

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Burton'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 $572.2K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Burton, South Carolina: $82.78 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $572.2K; −47% vs FY2025
Per resident: $82.78; US $1,995
Sole-source: 16%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.0%; 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 the Navy$298.1K52%
Defense Health Agency$136.1K24%
Department of Veterans Affairs$83.5K15%
Defense Logistics Agency$18.8K3.3%
Department of the Army$15.2K2.7%
National Park Service$12.3K2.2%
Department of Defense Education Activity$5,0590.9%
National Institutes of Health$1,5450.3%

Top recipients

WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY, THE$125.1K22%
KIRA INFRASTRUCTURE LLC$44.2K7.7%
LOYAL SOURCE GOVERNMENT SERVICES LLC$42.4K7.4%
NATIVE CONTRACTORS, INC.$41.1K7.2%
CLARK NEXSEN/ MICHAEL BAKER JV$37.5K6.6%

Spending by fiscal year

12.4MFY2017
1.4MFY2018
1.3MFY2019
1.4MFY2020
1.2MFY2021
1.7MFY2022
6MFY2023
1.2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$188.2K33%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$114.9K20%
Offices of physicians · 6211$42.4K7.4%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$40K7.0%
General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$36.3K6.3%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Burton, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Burton, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Beaufort County, SC ($380.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Burton 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.

Burton, 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
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/4510360

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends