Photo: Phoebe · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Pawleys Island run?
Pawleys Island’s town government spent $1.2 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $10,826 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Pawleys Island didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Pawleys Island is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $10,826 per resident a year, or $29.66 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 40%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Pawleys Island didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Pawleys Island yet
Every year of Pawleys Island’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Typical bills top $10,000 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Pawleys Island’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Pawleys Island’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Pawleys Island →
Who’s in charge in Pawleys Island
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Pawleys Island’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The town posts agendas and minutes on townofpawleysisland.com ↗.
One full-time town employee for every 18 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (109).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Georgetown County School District
Pawleys Island’s K–12 school district, shared with Georgetown, Andrews. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $16,913 per pupil, $8,525 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
South Carolina districts overall: 45% local, 43% state, 13% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Pawleys Island’s votes are counted by county
South Carolina reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Pawleys Island alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Georgetown County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican59.1%22,326 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat39.6%14,965 votesOthers: 1.2% (463 votes).
Most votes in Georgetown County: Donald J Trump
South Carolina: Trump 58.2%, Harris 40.4%
100% of Pawleys Island lies in Georgetown County. Every 2024 race in Georgetown County is on the county’s page.
Georgetown County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Pawleys Island.
- 1Your townTown governmentOfficials: townofpawleysisland.com ↗
- 2South Carolina HouseState representatives
- 3South Carolina SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of South Carolina
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Pawleys Island’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Pawleys Island’s government
How much does Pawleys Island spend per resident?
About $10,826 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Pawleys Island didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $1.2 million.
Who runs Pawleys Island’s government?
See townofpawleysisland.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Pawleys Island yet.
How did Pawleys Island vote in 2024?
South Carolina counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Pawleys Island alone. Georgetown County, where 100% of Pawleys Island lies, voted Trump 59.1%, Harris 39.6% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Pawleys Island?
6 full-time and 0 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $31,885 (about $382,620 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Pawleys Island in the state legislature?
State Senate District 34 (Stephen Goldfinch) and State House District 108 (Lee Hewitt). The House district also covers three neighboring towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Pawleys Island’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Pawleys Island, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →