Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 16,228.
For most people who can afford it, yes. St. Simons grades B overall, 57th of 258 graded towns in Georgia. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 87% of the country and the median household earns $109K. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $556K for a typical one and 8.3 times the Brunswick metro’s $67K median household income. 38% of residents are 65 or older in St. Simons, where Georgia’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 18%. On hazard risk, just 27 of Georgia’s 374 towns do worse. St. Simons has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them US Coast Guard Station-St. Simons Island and King and Prince Hotel.
Where St. Simons beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 20% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
20.8% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far St. Simons is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,706 in 1950, 14,982 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 5 maps from 1945 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →St. Simons is unincorporated, so Glynn County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in St. Simons.
St. Simons has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Georgia (mostly hurricanes) and is a long drive from an emergency room.
The density of trails in St. Simons is 0.9 miles per square mile. Walkers can cover 16 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in the town: 9, covering 86 acres.
| St. Simons | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 2.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coast Guard/East Beach | 0.3 mi | 7 |
| 2. The John Gilbert Nature Trail at Frederica Marsh | 0.2 mi | 29 |
| 3. Gascoigne Bluff Park | — | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Glynn County school district. Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked. 462 students attend St. Simons’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Simons Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 462 | A |
| Frederica Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 464 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
The nearest emergency room, Southeast Georgia Health System -- Camden Campus, is 30.8 miles away in a straight line.
For adults in St. Simons, the share who have obesity is 29%. Only one of the 261 Georgia towns we compare has a lower share of adults who feel lonely than St. Simons. The town does better than the Georgia average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 5.
| St. Simons | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 19% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 39% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 6.2% | 22% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | St. Simons | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.2% | 17.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.5% | 9.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.4% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Georgia towns, with expected losses of about $453 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
St. Simons has had 99 paid flood insurance claims since 2016. For St. Simons, the natural-hazard score from FEMA is 79 of 100. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2017. FEMA puts 48% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 20% to coastal flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Brunswick Malcolm Mckinnon Ap weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 312 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 43.3°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.3°.
St. Simons’ typical July afternoon high is 91°F. Snow is a rarity. It has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain.
| St. Simons | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 43°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 90°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
St. Simons has about as many jobs (5,740) as working residents, but only 1,454 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 17.5 minutes, against 28.3 across Georgia.
Jobs in St. Simons grew by 1,070 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 5,740. 30% of St. Simons working residents work locally. Half commute less than 7 miles. The typical journey to work for St. Simons comes to 18 minutes.
| St. Simons | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 15% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 8.3 years of the Brunswick metro’s $67K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 98% of Georgia towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The share of households in St. Simons who live in a home they own: 86%. St. Simons’ midpoint rent comes in at $1,799 a month. A home in St. Simons typically sold within 42 days of listing.
| St. Simons | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,799 a month | $1,152 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. Simons. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Park & preserveJekyll Island
in town LandmarkIgbo Landing Historic Site
2 mi National MonumentFort Frederica National Monument108K visitors a year
14 mi National SeashoreCumberland Island National Seashore60K visitors a year
33 mi LandmarkFort Clinch10 mi Theme parkSummer WavesJekyll Island: normanack on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Igbo Landing Historic Site: Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Frederica National Monument: Bubba73 (talk), Jud McCranie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cumberland Island National Seashore: The original uploader was Pgabolde at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Clinch: Fl295 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of St. Simons
About 4 of every 100 St. Simons residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
12,743 counted in 2010 and 14,982 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
2 places in St. Simons on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in St. Simons.
Place in Georgia, United States
St. Simons Island (SSI or just St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the island are interchangeable, known simply as "St. Simons Island" or "SSI", or locally as "The Island". St. Simons is part of the Brunswick metropolitan statistical area, and according to the 2020 U.S. census, the CDP had a population of 14,982. Located on the southeast Georgia coast, midway between Savannah and Jacksonville, St. Simons Island is both a seaside resort and residential community. It is the largest of Georgia's Golden Isles (along with Sea Island, Jekyll Island, and privately owne…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. St. Simons grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #57 of 258 in Georgia. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $556,000, 69% above the Georgia typical home.
St. Simons has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 6 notable people were born here, including Jim Brown and Morgan Gautrat.
