Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A regional job hub with 2,589 jobs. A town of 2,014 in South Carolina.
Trash day: look up yoursKiawah Island’s best subject grades are an A for health and schools and an A− for incomes; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 87% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Kiawah Island, against 23% in South Carolina’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Only 2 of South Carolina’s 261 towns score lower on cost of living. Kiawah Island’s density of trails is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both the South Carolina town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Arnoldus Vander Horst House and John's Island Presbyterian Church is on the National Register of Historic Places. Kiawah Island has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Kiawah Island beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Kiawah Island | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 2.9% | 17.4% |
1,626 counted in 2010 and 2,013 in 2020; an estimated 2,014 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Kiawah Island is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 91 in 1880, 2,013 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1852 and 4 maps from 1919 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Kiawah Island. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi MuseumUSS Yorktown
Big draw18 mi MuseumH. L. Hunley
15 mi MuseumUSS Laffey
7 mi Park & preserveAngel Oak
12 mi LandmarkFort Wagner
13 mi DamThe BatteryUSS 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 · Angel Oak: Galen Parks Smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Wagner: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · The Battery: Eagledj, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kiawah 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 Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Kiawah Island.
Values rose 12% in the 12 months to September 2026. Homes sold in Kiawah Island spent a median 44 days on the market. Sellers in Kiawah Island got 97.4% of the asking price, typically.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
CDC measures, 32 in all: Kiawah Island beats South Carolina on 24 and trails on 4. Of the 170 South Carolina towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Kiawah Island. For adults locally, the share who sleep under 7 hours is 21%.
| Kiawah Island | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 4.3% | 15% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 18% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 38% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Kiawah Island | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 2.9% | 17.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 2.3% | 13.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 18.6% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No town among the 170 in South Carolina we compare has a higher share of workers working from home than Kiawah Island. The town’s typical household income comes in at $214,000. Among 170 South Carolina towns, just 8 have a higher typical journey to work than Kiawah Island. In Kiawah Island, 3.1% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Kiawah Island | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 44% | 8.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $214,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 17% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Flood insurance has paid out on 126 claims in Kiawah Island since 1993. On expected storm and flood damage, Kiawah Island sits above 95% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 64% come from hurricanes and 17% from coastal flooding. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2017.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 40° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Count the trails in 1 park or preserve and they come to 14 miles. Kiawah Island has one park or preserve, 17 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Night Heron Park | — | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
5 within 15 miles of the center of Kiawah Island
About 2 of every 100 Kiawah Island residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Coastal flooding makes up 17% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Island in South Carolina, United States
Kiawah ( KEY-ə-wə) is a sea island, or barrier island, on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina, it is a seasonal beach and golf community. It is home to the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, with vacation houses and condos, beaches, golf courses, and other resort-like amenities. As of the 2020 census, Kiawah Island's full-time population was 2,013, up from 1,163 at the 2000 census. During the busy season, the population increases to over 10,000. The island is part of the Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Alternative spellings and variants of the name itself include "Ki…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Kiawah Island.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiawah Island | — | — | D | — | A | A |
| Seabrook Island | — | — | D | — | A | A |
Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Kiawah Island with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. 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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