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Place dossier plate
SheetSC-BEAUFORT-SC · Beaufort, SC 13,660 pop · income 34th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Beaufort
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Beaufort on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
East Cleveland · lowest
22,883
East Cleveland · lowest
22,883 median HH income
14.3% of the leader · rank #1
Malta · near
59,449
Malta · near
59,449 median HH income
37.0% of the leader · rank #2
Baker · near
59,451
Baker · near
59,451 median HH income
37.0% of the leader · rank #3
Beaufort · this city
59,454
Beaufort · this city
59,454 median HH income
37.0% of the leader · rank #4
Bartlesville · near
59,457
Bartlesville · near
59,457 median HH income
37.0% of the leader · rank #5
North Hyde Pa… · near
59,458
North Hyde Pa… · near
59,458 median HH income
37.0% of the leader · rank #6
Oak Park · highest
160,484
Oak Park · highest
160,484 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Beaufort on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 13,660.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Beaufort - the verdict
Beaufort ranks in the 34th percentile for household income and the 6th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
34th
percentile, household income
67th
percentile, home value
46th
percentile, median rent
6th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Beaufort, SC
13,660 people live in Beaufort, South Carolina - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $59,454 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.8%. Typical homes in Beaufort are valued around $310,400, and the median resident age is 31.5 years. About 38.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 55.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 750 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 914% from five years earlier. Beaufort's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 4269.2 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in South Carolina run below the national norm: the state registers 93.7 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,155 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in South Carolina run around $224, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 70.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Beaufort's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income to reported crime to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Beaufort, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Beaufort?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Which cities make useful reference points for Beaufort?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within South Carolina, the closest population matches are Cayce (13,718 residents, $58,095 income); Tega Cay (13,267 residents, $141,037 income); Orangeburg (13,189 residents, $33,066 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Oak Park, CA (13,656 residents); Brecksville, OH (13,656 residents); Lewisville, NC (13,655 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Beaufort?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Beaufort?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 4269.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 87% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Beaufort?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 14 public schools within the city match. 38.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
14.8%
Bachelor's degree+
38.1%
Matched public schools
14
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Is Beaufort growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +2,054 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +15.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 750 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
13,721
2025 estimate
15,775
Period change
+15.0%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Below median income · poverty 14.8% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.7 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, South Carolina average
F
City profile score · Beaufort, SC
39/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share B
38.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living B
93.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$59,454
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
696 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Beaufort profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 72/100 (B) · 38.1%
Cost of living: 70/100 (B) · 93.7 index
Household income: 34/100 (F) · $59,454
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 14.8%
Violent crime: 6/100 (F) · 696 /100k
Where Beaufort sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Beaufort's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Beaufort highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Beaufort, SC (this city): home $310,400, crime 4,269/100k
Brecksville, OH : home $360,100, crime 313/100k
East Cleveland, OH : home $68,900, crime 4,409/100k
Bardstown, KY : home $190,800, crime 1,559/100k
Cayce, SC : home $158,900, crime 3,515/100k
Tega Cay, SC : home $494,500, crime 325/100k
Orangeburg, SC : home $145,000, crime 7,455/100k
Moncks Corner, SC : home $312,800, crime 2,358/100k
Gaffney, SC : home $141,100, crime 4,404/100k
How does Beaufort compare to other US cities?
Beaufort measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income34% higher than other cities
Home value67% pricier than other cities
Median rent46% pricier than other cities
Safety6% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to South Carolina alone, Beaufort ranks #84 of 127 South Carolina cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Beaufort against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to South Carolina only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
South Carolina-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Beaufort near the bottom of South Carolina's cities
Among the 441 South Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Beaufort ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Beaufort only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#145 of 403
64th percentile in South Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 441
0th percentile in South Carolina
Median Home Value
#53 of 404
87th percentile in South Carolina
Poverty Rate
#206 of 439
53rd percentile in South Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#64 of 441
85th percentile in South Carolina
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within South Carolina only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
34th percentile nationally for median household income · 6th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Beaufort's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Beaufort's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Beaufort's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$310,40033rd percentilemore affordable than 33% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Beaufort's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,217 of 15,516
More affordable than 15% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,714 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.2×, Beaufort sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,217 of 15,516 and #2,714 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$59,454Beaufort, SC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Beaufort, SC median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Beaufort, SC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)38.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
13,660
Median Income
$59,454
Median Home Value
$310,400
Median Age
31.5
Poverty Rate
14.8%
Labor force participation
55.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
38.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4269.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
696.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3573.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
14
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Beaufort's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
13,721 residents
2021
13,819 residents
2022
13,776 residents
2023
13,867 residents
2024
14,517 residents
2025
15,775 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
750
housing units authorized
Single-Family
142
detached homes
Multifamily
608
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
54.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
74
50
24
$25.8M
2020
67
65
2
$25.4M
2021
58
58
0
$26.2M
2022
146
146
0
$62.3M
2023
413
149
264
$99.7M
2024
750
142
608
$151.5M
Permit volume increased 914% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.8%
Carpool
11.7%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
3.8%
Work from Home
5.5%
Other
1.0%
Based on 7,649 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
South Carolina statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $224
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across South Carolina at $224 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are South Carolina statewide averages, not a meter reading for Beaufort. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
South Carolina's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.7 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Beaufort is $1,155/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to South Carolina statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.7 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a South Carolina statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Beaufort sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Beaufort compares to similar-size South Carolina cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.