Scores by category

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

Safety1#15,547/15,637
Economy48#8,198/15,631
Housing29#10,606/14,977
Health33#10,522/15,609
Healthcare23#12,099/15,650
Environment27#11,336/15,453
Education42#9,078/15,649
Infrastructure66#5,330/15,650
Community36#10,092/15,651
Leisure & amenities28#11,329/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Edisto Beach, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Colleton 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

Poverty rate · low2.5%
95/100South Carolina 13.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Comfortable days · high33.4%
91/100South Carolina 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationColleton County value
New homes permitted · high11.9 /1k
91/100South Carolina 8.5 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Bachelor's degree or higher · high61.0%
90/100South Carolina 32.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Loneliness · low31.0%
88/100South Carolina 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Public EV charging ports · high11.9 /10k
87/100South Carolina 4.0 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyColleton County value

Weaknesses

Traffic deaths · high58.7 /100k
1/100South Carolina 20.5 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataColleton County value
Firearm deaths · high41.2 /100k
1/100South Carolina 18.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionColleton County value
Reading scores · low2.32
1/100South Carolina 2.93United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColleton County value
Math scores · low2.25
1/100South Carolina 2.92United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColleton County value
Homicide rate · high19.3 /100k
1/100South Carolina 8.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateColleton County value
Premature death · high17,174 /100k
2/100South Carolina 10,517 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColleton County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
604 (2015-2019) → 1,092 (2020-2024)
+81%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.0% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+50 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.7× (2015-2019) → 8.4× (2020-2024)
+78%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
New homes permittedWorsening
40.8 /1k (2021) → 11.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−71%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
32.5% (2015-2019) → 38.8% (2020-2024)
+6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
4.2% (2015-2019) → 7.4% (2020-2024)
+3.3 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, Edisto Beach, South Carolina improved on 0 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Price / income+3.7×4.7× → 8.4×

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Edisto Beach, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.6 min2015-2019	27.5 min2020-2024	−2.1 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	59.2%2015-2019	61.0%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	91.9%2015-2019	95.1%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	0.75%2015-2019	0.54%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
High school diploma or higher	98.3%2015-2019	98.9%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Home price to income ratio	4.7×2015-2019	8.4×2020-2024	+3.7×	Declined	1%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4922015-2019	0.4152020-2024	−0.077	Within the margin of error	92%
Median household income	$83,7502015-2019	$85,5212020-2024	+2.1%	Within the margin of error	9%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Edisto Beach, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Edisto Beach, 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, Edisto Beach, South Carolina itself moved +3 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,092 residents (±176)

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: 80 and over women (−5.3 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

1,092 residents (±176)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

White98%1,070
Black0.1%†1
Hispanic or Latino0.5%†6

Education

1,067 residents (±176)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

No high school diploma1.1%†12
High school or GED9.2%†98
Some college

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

613 households (±97)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k3.8%†23
$25k–50k12%†73
$50k–75k25%†154
$75k–100k18%†109
$100k–150k15%†94
$150k–200k9.5%†58
$200k or more17%†102

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−9.1 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 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

613 households (±97)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own86%525
Rent14%†88

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−10.9 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

38 households (±30)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00034%†13
$1,000–1,50047%†18

Home values

525 homes (±90)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $150k2.1%†11
$150k–250k5.5%†29
$250k–400k7.8%†

Age of homes

2,160 homes (±213)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

2010 or later4.7%†102
2000–200921%450
1980–199954%1,168

Size of homes

2,160 homes (±213)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Studio2.3%†49
1 bedroom8.8%†189
2 bedrooms13%277

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

432 workers (±106)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone57%†247
Carpool6.7%†29
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.4%†6
Bike0.2%†1
Work from home28%†123
Other6.0%†26

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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

309 workers (±85)

Edisto Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under 15 min56%†172
15–29 min7.1%†22
30–44 min8.1%†

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

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 Colleton County, the county holding most of Edisto Beach's residents.

Colleton County has 793 employer establishments, 203 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.89× South Carolina's), with 7,333 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,580. The Census Bureau also counts 3,630 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 793; 3,630 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 203; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 7,333
Average annual pay: $46,580; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	62	15.8	1.02×About typical	388	$57,216	392
Ambulatory health care services	61	15.6	0.75×Fewer than typical	355	$75,293	146
Restaurants and other eating places	61	15.6	0.85×About typical	1,126	$20,806	22
Religious organizations	35	8.9	1.61×More than typical	133	$16,241	—
Gasoline stations	33	8.4	2.60×More than typical	270	$27,011	—
Limited-service restaurants	32	8.2	1.02×About typical	563	$18,249	6
Lessors of real estate	31	7.9	0.64×Fewer than typical	84	$48,286	269
Offices of physicians	31	7.9	1.22×About typical	189	$92,635	8
Full-service restaurants	23	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	492	$23,441	10
Other specialty trade contractors	23	5.9	2.34×More than typical	239	$64,527	112
Services to buildings and dwellings	22	5.6	0.83×About typical	113	$42,372	441
Legal services	19	4.9	0.90×About typical	48	$49,667	15

Rank places for an industry Open Colleton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 39,129 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Edisto Beach, South Carolina: $0 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $2,007
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.7%

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

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

46.2KFY2024
-343.6FY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 Edisto Beach, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Edisto Beach, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Colleton County, SC ($393.3K 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: Edisto Beach is mostly in Colleton County.

See federal money in Colleton 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.

Edisto Beach, South Carolina is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).