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Towns / South Carolina

Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Kiawah Island is a tourist town of about 2,000 people in Charleston County, South Carolina. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Jacksonville, is about 184 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
2,014
down 0.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$2,000,000 or more
Charleston County prices up 25% since 2022
Household income
$213,594
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Charleston area
101
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Charleston, SC
To Jacksonville
184 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1% above the U.S. average in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Kiawah Island to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Kiawah Island itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is St. Johns High, about 8 miles away.
  • A hospital close byBon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Charleston, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityJacksonville is about 184 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Kiawah Island meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 56% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$2,000,000 or moreU.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 25%Charleston County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$213,594U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$8,349 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
56%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
101U.S. average = 100 (the Charleston-North Charleston metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Charleston-North Charleston metro area, not Kiawah Island alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
2,0142020: 2,015
Median age
66.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
57%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
1%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
14%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Professional and business services (25%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
44%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
3%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Charleston, SC, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Kiawah Island itself. The nearest public high school is St. Johns High, about 8 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on South Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
91%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
44°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
24 a year
Nights at or below freezing
6 a year
Rain and melted snow
52.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
5 feet

Weather stations: Charleston City (14 miles away) and Charleston Intl Ap (20 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bon Secours-St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Charleston, Jacksonville.

Charleston County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park14 miles
  • Charles Pinckney National Historic Site21 miles
  • Reconstruction Era National Historical Park34 miles

Read about Kiawah Island's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kiawah Island?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Rockville, SC143 people, 8 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.