Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Isle of Palms grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns. It ranks 24th of 167 in South Carolina. On health it is strong (A+) — residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Add incomes to its strengths: the median household earns $157K. What holds it back is cost of living (D) — the typical home is worth about $1.7 million, 20.2 years of the Charleston metro’s $85K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. The town has 1 place on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Isle of Palms is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 4%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Isle of Palms beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 1,186 in 1960, 4,347 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 3 maps from 1943 on.
Coastal flooding makes up 10% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
23.9% 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
Ordered by what stands out in Isle of Palms.
Isle of Palms is among the three healthiest towns in South Carolina, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of South Carolina.
At 20.2 years of the Charleston metro’s $85K median household income, the typical home (about $1.72M) costs more against local pay than in any other South Carolina town; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Home values rose 54% in five years, to about $1.72M, against 24% across South Carolina.
Zillow values the typical Isle of Palms home at about $1,720,000, up 10.3% in a year, 6 times the South Carolina typical home. On the market in the town: a median 108 days to sell. In Isle of Palms, the typical sale closed at 95.8% of the list price.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Isle of Palms’ density of trails is 1.5 miles per square mile. In 1 park or preserve, walkers have 8.0 miles of trail.
| Isle of Palms | Typical South Carolina town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Isle of Palms County Park | 0.2 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
It ranks #2 of the 169 South Carolina towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with South Carolina is food insecurity: 4.2% of its 3,651 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.4% statewide.
One in ten adults report frequent mental distress in Isle of Palms. Of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Isle of Palms. What’s more, the share of adults in Isle of Palms who get no exercise outside work is 14%, below both South Carolina’s towns (28%) and U.S. towns (25%). Against the South Carolina average, Isle of Palms comes out ahead on 26 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 3.
| Isle of Palms | Typical South Carolina town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.1% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 18% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 38% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Isle of Palms | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.2% | 17.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.4% | 13.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $2,369 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 2,046 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 53 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected losses in Isle of Palms break down as 70% from hurricanes and 10% from coastal flooding. Isle of Palms has had 2,046 paid flood insurance claims since 1979.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 90°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 83% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 41°.
Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 4 have a higher January low than Isle of Palms. It almost never snows.
| Isle of Palms | Typical South Carolina town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 41°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Isle of Palms has about as many jobs (1,658) as working residents, but only 180 people both live and work here. 35.2% of workers work from home, against 11.5% across South Carolina.
The median commute is under 12 miles. No town among the 168 in South Carolina we compare has a higher median household income than Isle of Palms. Commuting out is the norm here: 13% of working residents work locally. Only 5 of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of residents below the poverty line than Isle of Palms.
| Isle of Palms | Typical South Carolina town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $157,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.5% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within South Carolina, it does better than 81% of towns. Isle of Palms’ level of property crime is recorded as 9.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Isle of Palms | Typical South Carolina town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.4 per 1,000 residents | 21.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Isle of Palms. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi MuseumUSS Yorktown
Big draw13 mi MuseumH. L. Hunley
9 mi MuseumUSS Laffey
10 mi LandmarkFort Wagner
7 mi LandmarkFort Moultrie
20 mi Park & preserveAngel OakUSS Yorktown: David Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · H. L. Hunley: Sepia wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1902, after a painting then held by the Con, Public domain · USS Laffey: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Fort Wagner: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Fort Moultrie: Dima Sergiyenko; Please attribute this image as the work of "DiscoverWithDima.", CC BY-SA 4.0 · Angel Oak: Galen Parks Smith, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Isle of Palms, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
5 within 15 miles of the center of Isle of Palms
About 3 of every 100 Isle of Palms residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Barrier island on the coast of South Carolina, United States
Isle of Palms is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Isle of Palms had a population of 4,347. It is a barrier island on the South Carolina coast. The city is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area and the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area. The town lies along a narrow strip of land, hugging the beach, separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Isle of Palms.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isle of Palms | #24 | B+ | D | C+ | A | A+ |
| Sullivan's Island | — | — | D− | B+ | A | A+ |
Sullivan's Island has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Isle of Palms with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Isle of Palms grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #24 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades A+ for health, C+ for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 81% of towns.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,720,000, 465% above the South Carolina typical home and up 10.3% in a year. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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