Shell PointSC
A town of 1,439.
Is Shell Point a good place to live?
The best of Shell Point’s subject grades is an A− for health; the weakest is a D− for hazard risk. Shell Point has 1 place on the National Register. Shell Point has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Shell Point stand out
Where Shell Point beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Shell Point | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.2% | 13.9% |
1,439 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Shell Point grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Shell Point is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Shell Point: who provides what
Shell Point is unincorporated, so Beaufort 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 Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Shell Point.
The biggest natural risk in Shell Point is hurricanes, at a very high overall level
Compared with 98% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Shell Point is higher. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1980: 39. Nearly four fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by inland flooding at 6%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Shell Point stands out in South Carolina and nationally: a smaller share of its adults have been diagnosed with depression
12% of Shell Point adults report frequent physical distress. Only 8 of the 170 South Carolina towns we compare have a higher share of adults who binge drink than Shell Point. Two figures for adults here: 28% feel lonely, 20% get no exercise outside work. Against the South Carolina average, Shell Point comes out ahead on 16 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1.
| Shell Point | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 28% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Shell Point | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.2% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 14.8% | 20.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.3% | 15.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of Shell Point’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them
Shell Point’s middle household income stands at $82,000. Most working residents leave Shell Point for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2013, Shell Point has lost 81 jobs, to 91 in 2023. Also worth knowing: 3.1% of Shell Point residents live below the poverty line, below both the South Carolina town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).
| Shell Point | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.6% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A older population than South Carolina as a whole
South Carolina has 32% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 27%. People 65 and older are 29% of residents (19% statewide); children under 18 are 15% of residents (22% statewide). For Shell Point, the age of the median resident is 53.2 years.
| Shell Point | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.2 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 26% and 66% women
The Census survey reached too few of Shell Point’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±20.3 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Shell Point | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.1% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 3.6% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.3% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.9% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 16.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.1% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.2% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.2% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
Shell Point: mild winters and hot summers
In Shell Point, the midsummer high is 91°F, against 91°F in South Carolina’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median home in Shell Point sells for about $369K
79% of households own their home in Shell Point.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mercer House and 26 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shell Point. Close and well known come first.
29 mi MuseumMercer House
25 mi National MonumentFort Pulaski National Monument321K visitors a year
7 mi Ancient siteCharlesfort-Santa Elena Site
29 mi MuseumSorrel–Weed House
33 mi State parkWormsloe Historic Site
18 mi State parkHunting Island State ParkPhoto credits
Mercer House: Kyle Kesselring from Canal Winchester, OH, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Pulaski National Monument: Edibobb, CC BY 3.0 · Charlesfort-Santa Elena Site: Arman Manookian, Public domain · Sorrel–Weed House: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wormsloe Historic Site: Bubba73, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hunting Island State Park: The original uploader was Cdamgen at English Wikipedia., Public domain
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Everything we know about Shell Point
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Shell Point
About 5 of every 100 Shell Point residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Carolina.
99% of working residents leave Shell Point for work
Where Shell Point’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Shell Point
CDP in South Carolina, United States
Shell Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,336 at the 2010 census. Shell Point is served by the Burton Fire District. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Shell Point is in the Hilton Head Island−Bluffton, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 16 ft
Questions about Shell Point
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Shell Point, SC expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $293,000, 4% below the South Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.