Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,156, settled in 1900. More miles of trail than almost any town in Georgia.
Trash & recyclingTybee Island's standout: it has 9 miles of trail. Overall it grades B−, 83rd among Georgia's 258 graded towns. The median household earns $120K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 84% of the country. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. Tybee Island’s trail density is 2.7 miles per square mile, above both Georgia’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 22 of Georgia’s 371 towns score higher on walkability. Tybee Island has 14 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fort Pulaski National Monument and Tybee Island Strand Cottages Historic District.
Where Tybee Island beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 381 in 1900, a low of 117 in 1920, 3,114 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1893.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Georgia), ordered by how far Tybee Island is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Tybee Island. Close and well known come first.
2 mi National MonumentFort Pulaski National Monument321K visitors a year
15 mi MuseumMercer House
13 mi State parkWormsloe Historic Site
15 mi MuseumSorrel–Weed House
in town MuseumTybee Island Lighthouse and Museum
15 mi MuseumCongregation Mickve IsraelFort Pulaski National Monument: Edibobb, CC BY 3.0 · Mercer House: Kyle Kesselring from Canal Winchester, OH, CC BY 2.0 · Wormsloe Historic Site: Bubba73, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sorrel–Weed House: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tybee Island Lighthouse and Museum: Lawrence G. Miller (Lawrence G. Miller on en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Congregation Mickve Israel: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tybee Island, and how to reach them.
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 Tybee Island.
Tybee Island has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Georgia and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Georgia (mostly hurricanes).
At 8 years of the Savannah metro’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $615K) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Georgia towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The typical value, about $615K, is 13% below its April 2024 peak.
The typical Tybee Island home is worth about $615,000, down 2.6% in a year, 87% above the Georgia typical home. 89% of households own their home in Tybee Island, above both the Georgia town median (58%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The median rent in Tybee Island is $1,696 a month.
| Tybee Island | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 89% | 58% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,696 a month | $1,152 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Savannah-Chatham County school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tybee Island Maritime Academy SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 432 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within GA on state tests and graduation
At 2.7 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #2 of 158 Georgia towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #1 of 264 in Georgia.
8.6 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jaycee Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Memorial Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Historic Tybee Island Light Station | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Georgia towns, with expected losses of about $1,090 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 544 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 99 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 544 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Tybee Island. Among 262 Georgia towns, just 3 have a higher FEMA risk score than Tybee Island.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 5,682 U.S. towns with household incomes like Tybee Island’s, it is healthier than 64%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
12% of Tybee Island adults report frequent mental distress. Only 2 of the 261 Georgia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who feel lonely than Tybee Island. 15% of Tybee Island adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Tybee Island | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 19% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 39% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 38% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Tybee Island | GA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.4% | 15% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.1% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 41.1°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.5°.
Tybee Island has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Tybee Island’s January low is 41°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Tybee Island | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 41°F | 33°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 90°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 4 of Tybee Island’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Tybee Island grew to 1,267 in 2023, 212 more than in 2013. 7.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Tybee Island.
| Tybee Island | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $120,000 | $63,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 15% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 9.2% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Tybee Island's reported crime rate is below Georgia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025.
| Tybee Island | Georgia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.9 per 1,000 residents | 14.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
3 within 15 miles of the center of Tybee Island
About 3 of every 100 Tybee Island residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Georgia.
Coastal flooding makes up 25% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
43.1% 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
14 places in Tybee Island on the National Register of Historic Places.
City and barrier island in Georgia, United States
Tybee Island ( TYE-bee) is a city and a barrier island in Chatham County, Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) east of Savannah. The name is used for both the city and the island, but geographically the two are not identical: only part of the island's territory lies within the city, while the rest is unincorporated. The island is Georgia's easternmost point. The phrase "From Rabun Gap to Tybee Light", intended to illustrate Georgia's geographic diversity, contrasts the mountain pass near the state's northernmost point with the coastal barrier island's lighthouse. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was about 3,000 people. The entire island is a part of the Savannah metropolitan statistical ar…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tybee Island grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #83 of 258 in Georgia. It grades A− for health and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 8 years of the area's median household income ($77,180 across the Savannah, GA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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