Pawleys Island is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of South Carolina. With a population of 133 people and five associated neighborhoods, Pawleys Island is the 282nd largest community in South Carolina.

Pawleys Island home prices are not only among the most expensive in South Carolina, but Pawleys Island real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, Pawleys Island is also a town of artists. Pawleys Island has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Pawleys Island’s character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 28.57% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Pawleys Island is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the town’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially 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.

The town is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Pawleys Island has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Pawleys Island a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.

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.

Pawleys Island is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

If knowledge is power, Pawleys Island is a pretty powerful place. 79.41% of the adults in Pawleys Island have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Pawleys Island in 2022 was $146,647, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $586,588 for a family of four.

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. Important ancestries of people in Pawleys Island include English, Irish, Scottish, Scots-Irish, and German.

The most common language spoken in Pawleys Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Arabic.