County profile

Beaufort County

South Carolina · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
195,289
Median household income
$86,573
People below poverty
9.6%
Median home value
$455,600

Income

The median income of households in Beaufort County, South Carolina was $86,573. An estimated 3.7% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 15.2% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.7
$10,000 to $14,999 2.3
$15,000 to $24,999 4.9
$25,000 to $34,999 5.5
$35,000 to $49,999 9.6
$50,000 to $74,999 16.8
$75,000 to $99,999 13.8
$100,000 to $149,999 18.6
$150,000 to $199,999 9.7
$200,000 or more 15.2

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 59784
Female 50587

An estimated 67.3% of households received earnings. An estimated 44.1% of households received Social Security and an estimated 38.9 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $31,171. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 67.3
Social Security 44.1
Retirement income 38.9
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 3.4
Cash public assistance income 1.2

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 9.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 15.9% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 7.2% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 8.9% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 9.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 15.9
People 65 years old and over below poverty 7.2
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 8.9

In 2020-2024, 5.2 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 49.4% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 44.1% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 36.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024, 91.5% had health insurance coverage and 8.5% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 71.3% and public coverage was 42.2%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 7.3%.


In 2020-2024, Beaufort County, South Carolina had a total population of 195,289 - 98,634 (50.5%) females and 96,655 (49.5%) males. The median age was 48.1 years. An estimated 17.4% of the population was under 18 years, 27% was 19 to 44 years, 24.3% was 45 to 64 years, and 28.4 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 4577 4443
5 to 9 4432 4173
10 to 14 5300 4979
15 to 19 7005 5095
20 to 24 7783 5212
25 to 29 5391 4906
30 to 34 4813 5121
35 to 39 4915 3719
40 to 44 4558 6109
45 to 49 4541 4799
50 to 54 4820 5618
55 to 59 5877 6728
60 to 64 6743 8199
65 to 69 7159 8144
70 to 74 7373 9072
75 to 79 5657 6269
80 to 84 3335 3382
85 and over 2376 2666

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 69.2% were White; 15.7% were Black or African American; 9.2% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 1.2% were Asian; 4.9% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 8.1% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 12.4% of the people in Beaufort County, South Carolina were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 67.3% of the people in Beaufort County, South Carolina were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 82,333 households in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The average household size was 2.28 people.

Married-couple households made up 56.1% of the households in Beaufort County, South Carolina while cohabiting couple households made up 5.1% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 23.9% of all households, while 14.9% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 11% of households were male householders living alone, and 14.8% were female householders living alone, for a total of 25.8% of all households.

In Beaufort County, South Carolina, 22.6% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 44.7% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 56.1
Cohabiting Couples 5.1
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
14.9
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
23.9

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 58.2% of males and 57.6% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 30.5 20.3
Now married, except separated 58.2 57.6
Separated 0.8 1.9
Widowed 3 9
Divorced 7.6 11.2

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Beaufort County, South Carolina, 2,806 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 37.7% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 92.3% of the people living in Beaufort County, South Carolina were U.S. natives. 25.7% of the Beaufort County, South Carolina population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 7.7% of Beaufort County, South Carolina residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 38.5% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 67.6 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Beaufort County, South Carolina come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Beaufort County, South Carolina.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 61.5
Asia 12.4
Europe 16.6
Africa 2.6
Northern America 6.3
Oceania 0.6

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024, 11.7 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 8.7% of people at least five years old; 4.6% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 8.7
Other Indo-European languages 1.7
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.9
Other languages 0.5

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 85.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Beaufort County, South Carolina were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 85.9
Different house, same county 4.8
Different county, same state 1.7
Different state 7.4
Abroad 0.3

Education

In 2020-2024, 94.7 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 46% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 5.4% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Beaufort County, South Carolina was 34,229 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 2,473 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 23,990. College or graduate school enrollment was 7,766.

Educational Attainment of People in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 5.4
High school diploma or equivalency 21
Some college, no degree 19.6
Associate's degree 8
Bachelor's degree 26.8
Graduate or professional degree 19.2

Disability

In Beaufort County, South Carolina, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 13.4 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4.5% of people under 18 years old, to 9.7% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 25.4% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Beaufort County, South Carolina, 50.1 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 43.6% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 79.2% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 12.2% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 8.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 65,633 79.2
Federal, state, or local government workers 10,096 12.2
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 6,956 8.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Beaufort County, South Carolina worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1
Construction 9
Manufacturing 6.4
Wholesale trade 1.6
Retail trade 13.5
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 4.3
Information 2.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 7.1
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 13.5
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 20
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 13
Other Services, except public administration 5.1
Public administration 3.1

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 33,333 40.2
Service occupations 15,568 18.8
Sales and office occupations 18,559 22.4
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 7,345 8.9
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 8,113 9.8

Commuting to Work

An estimated 71.8% of Beaufort County, South Carolina workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 10.2% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 23.6 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 71.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 10.2
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.5
Walked 2.4
Other means 1.8
Worked from home 13.2

In 2020-2024, Beaufort County, South Carolina had a total of 103,177 housing units. Of these housing units, 70% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 20.9% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 9% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 70
Apartments in multi-unit structures 20.9
Mobile homes 9
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.2

20.2% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 0.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Beaufort County, South Carolina was 5.9 rooms, and of these housing units 68.2% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Beaufort County, South Carolina had 82,333 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 20,844 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 75.9% while renters occupied 24.1%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.24 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.43.

4.4% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 3.7% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 4.3% and another 17.2% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Beaufort County, South Carolina:

House Heating Fuel Used in Beaufort County, South Carolina in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 19.4
Electricity 79.8
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0
All other fuels 0.4
No fuel used 0.2

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Beaufort County, South Carolina was $455,600.

Of the owner-occupied households, 58.5 % had a mortgage. 41.5% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,030 and for owners without a mortgage it was $673.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Beaufort County, South Carolina was $1,653. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.