In recent studies, we analyzed and identified the richest cities in a number of states of the U.S. South, including Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, based on scoring several key financial factors. This time around, we’re looking at another Southern state— South Carolina, the Palmetto State.
We analyzed over 400 cities in the state in order to identify the richest cities in South Carolina. The manner in which we evaluated and scored each city’s ranking is detailed below.
Read on to find out what the richest city in South Carolina is, plus the top 50 wealthiest cities in the state overall.
What Are the Richest Cities in South Carolina?
In order to assemble a list of the richest cities in South Carolina, we pulled data from the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. From there, we constructed a four-factor scoring system to help identify the wealthiest cities in South Carolina:
- Median household income
- Mean (average) household income
- Median home value
- Median property taxes paid
Some important notes about Census data: For certain factors, its numbers have upper limits. For example, for median household income, the Census Bureau has an upper limit of “$250,000+”. For median home value, the upper limit is “$2,000,000+”. Thirdly, for median property taxes paid, the upper limit is “$10,000+”. For these reasons, the mean or average household income dataset is critical because the Census Bureau has exact figures for it. All four of these metrics were scored, added up, and then ranked by the cities’ combined scores.
Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 50 richest cities in South Carolina and their respective dollar figures for each metric:
The No. 1 richest city in South Carolina in our ranking is Kiawah Island, a barrier island southeast of Charleston that is composed mainly of private beaches and the Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Despite being a small and largely private island, Kiawah Island has more than 1,000 total households, which is more than most of the wealthiest cities in South Carolina. In Kiawah Island, the median household income is $216,750, the highest in South Carolina. Meanwhile its mean household income of $366,392 is also the highest in South Carolina. The reported median home value in Kiawah Island is the second highest in our study, at $1,442,000, and its median property taxes paid exceeds $8,000 per year. Not surprisingly for the richest city in South Carolina, according to Data USA, the main occupation by employment is Business & Financial Operations Occupations, accounting for 23% of the workforce, followed by Health Diagnosing & Treating Practitioners & Other Technical Occupations, which accounts for 21.6% of the workforce. The top three industries in Kiawah Island are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (31.3% of the workforce), Health Care & Social Assistance (24.7% of the workforce), and Finance & Insurance (10.9% of the workforce).
The second richest city in South Carolina is Sullivan’s Island, which is northwest of Kiawah Island and forms the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Sullivan’s Island stands out for having a median home value in excess of $2 million, the only city in South Carolina to do so. The median household income in Sullivan’s Island is $157,743, which is around $60,000 less than No. 1 Kiawah Island, yet still far higher than the median household income for South Carolina overall, $64,115. Sullivan’s Island has the second highest average household income in South Carolina, at $259,204. Not surprisingly, with such high home values, the median property taxes paid per year in Sullivan’s Island is $6,067, also the second highest amount in the state.
Coming in as the No. 3 richest city in South Carolina is DeBordieu Colony, which is also called DeBordieu Beach or just DeBordieu. It is a private, unincorporated community, northwest of Charleston and closer to Myrtle Beach. DeBordieu is on the smaller side, having only 364 total households. With a median household income of $212,574, DeBordieu has the second highest median income in South Carolina. In terms of average household income, DeBordieu has the third highest, at $233,460. The reported median home value in DeBordieu is $950,000.
The fourth richest city in South Carolina is Pawleys Island, another barrier island, this one being just north of DeBordieu. Its mean household income of $216,598 is the fifth highest in South Carolina, while its median household income is $130,833. Pawleys Island has the third highest reported median home value, at $1,291,700. Pawleys Island is very small, with only 52 total households. Not surprisingly for the richest city in South Carolina, according to Data USA, the main occupation by employment is Management Occupations, accounting for 43.8% of the workforce. The top three industries in Pawleys Island are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (44.4% of the workforce), Health Care & Social Assistance (18.5% of the workforce), and Retail Trade (14.8% of the workforce).
The No. 5 richest city in South Carolina is just northwest of Sullivan’s Island — Isle of Palms. This city has a median household income of $134,917, which is the sixth highest in the study; however, its mean household income of $228,977 is the fourth highest in South Carolina. Homeowners in Isle of Palms pay a median property tax of $3,093 per year, while its reported median home value is $883,200. The Isle of Palms is on the larger side, having over 1,900 total households. The economic landscape in Isle of Palms is different than the other top five richest cities in South Carolina. According to Data USA, the top industries in terms of employment are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (16.7% of the workforce), Educational Services (10.3% of the workforce), and Retail Trade (10.1% of the workforce).
Out of the top 50 richest cities in South Carolina, the largest is Charleston, which has 63,760 households. The Charleston metro area is home to several of the richest cities in Charleston and the city of Charleston proper ranks as the 35th richest city in South Carolina. The median household income in Charleston is $76,556, while its mean household income is $111,903.
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