Another notable thing is that Pawleys Island is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Pawleys Island’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
In addition, Pawleys Island is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.
Because of many things, Pawleys Island is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Pawleys Island a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Pawleys Island has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Pawleys Island’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.
It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Pawleys Island has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Pawleys Island has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Pawleys Island than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Pawleys Island may be for you.
One of the nice things about Pawleys Island is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
Residents of the town have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 15.21 minutes getting to work every day.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Pawleys Island. 88.02% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Pawleys Island in 2022 was $116,778, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $467,112 for a family of four. However, Pawleys Island contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Pawleys Island home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Pawleys Island residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Pawleys Island include English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Swedish.
The most common language spoken in Pawleys Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Arabic.
