Hilton Head Island > Economic Data/Statistics

Hilton Head Island Economy

Hilton Head Statistics

As of 2010 Hilton Head Island has 37,099 permanent residents. The Island's economy is primarily tourism and real estate driven. More than $1 billion impacted the Hilton Head Island / Bluffton economy in 2008. Over 2 million visitors come each year, several hundred of whom made the move permanent.

Presently, there are more than 600 full-time real estate executives working on the Island. 61% of local jobs are tourism-related. Approximately 43 percent of the 5,000 licensed Island enterprises are retail and service-oriented companies. Retail operations and restaurants in particular have flourished in the Hilton Head Island/ Bluffton-Okatie area. (Information is from Hilton Head Tourism Statistics)

Tourism pumps more than $1 billion into the Hilton Head Island area economy annually. Sales taxes paid by visitors total $34 million. Taxes paid by tourists save every South Carolina taxpayer more than $200 each year in state taxes.