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Place dossier plate
SheetSC-FOLLY-BEACH-SC · Folly Beach, SC 958 pop · income 76th 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 Folly Beach
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Folly Beach on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pamplico · lowest
24,646
Pamplico · lowest
24,646 median HH income
21.7% of the leader · rank #1
Wrenshall · near
97,798
Wrenshall · near
97,798 median HH income
86.0% of the leader · rank #2
Folly Beach · this city
97,813
Folly Beach · this city
97,813 median HH income
86.0% of the leader · rank #3
Lake Chaffee · near
97,813
Lake Chaffee · near
97,813 median HH income
86.0% of the leader · rank #4
Winona Lake · near
97,813
Winona Lake · near
97,813 median HH income
86.0% of the leader · rank #5
Troy · near
97,825
Troy · near
97,825 median HH income
86.0% of the leader · rank #6
Pinopolis · highest
113,750
Pinopolis · highest
113,750 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 Folly Beach 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: 958.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Folly Beach - the verdict
Nationally, Folly Beach sits in the 76th percentile for household income and the 21st percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
76th
percentile, household income
97th
percentile, home value
46th
percentile, median rent
21st
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: Folly Beach, SC
958 people live in Folly Beach, South Carolina - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $97,813 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 10.1%. Home values in Folly Beach run a median of $951,200, and the median resident age is 62.7 years. About 60.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 52.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 14 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 46% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 2591.2 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Living costs in South Carolina run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, South Carolina scores 93.7 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,155 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts South Carolina's average monthly utility costs around $224 (state average). Workers in Folly Beach report an average commute of 18.6 minutes, with 49.1% driving alone and 34.8% working from home. 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 Folly Beach'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 housing and income to reported crime to population change to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Folly Beach, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; 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 Folly Beach?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 49.1%. The reported mean trip to work is 18.6 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in Folly Beach?
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 9.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Folly Beach?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2591.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 14% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Folly Beach?
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 Seabrook (959 residents, $62,941 income); Sandy Springs (955 residents, $68,393 income); Pamplico (952 residents, $24,646 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Inyokern, CA (958 residents); Greenwood, FL (958 residents); Ririe, ID (958 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.
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.
Population change
Is Folly Beach growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +7 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 14 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
2020 estimate
2,074
2025 estimate
2,081
Period change
+0.3%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
High income · poverty 10.1% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.7 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, South Carolina average
C+
City profile score · Folly Beach, SC
60/100
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 A+
60.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B+
$97,813
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); 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.
Poverty rate F
10.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
336 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Folly Beach profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 92/100 (A+) · 60.5%
Household income: 76/100 (B+) · $97,813
Cost of living: 70/100 (B) · 93.7 index
Poverty rate: 39/100 (F) · 10.1%
Violent crime: 28/100 (F) · 336 /100k
Where Folly Beach sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Folly Beach'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 - Folly Beach highlighted among 22 peers.Read the chart values
Folly Beach, SC (this city): home $951,200, crime 2,591/100k
Pamplico, SC : home $151,800, crime 2,376/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Folly Beach compare to other US cities?
Where Folly Beach sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income76% higher than other cities
Home value97% pricier than other cities
Median rent46% pricier than other cities
Safety21% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just South Carolina and the picture shifts: Folly Beach ranks #55 of 127 South Carolina cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Folly Beach 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 Folly Beach near the bottom of South Carolina's cities
Among the 441 South Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Folly Beach ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Folly Beach only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#35 of 403
91st percentile in South Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 441
0th percentile in South Carolina
Median Home Value
#6 of 404
99th percentile in South Carolina
Poverty Rate
#255 of 439
41st percentile in South Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#19 of 441
96th 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
76th percentile nationally for median household income · 21st percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Folly Beach's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Folly Beach'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 Folly Beach's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$951,2003rd percentilemore affordable than 3% 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
Folly Beach's home-value-to-income ratio: 9.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,335 of 15,516
More affordable than 1% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,203 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 9.7×, Folly Beach sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,335 of 15,516 and #11,203 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$97,813Folly Beach, SC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Folly Beach, 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 Folly Beach, SC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)60.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)52.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
958
Median Income
$97,813
Median Home Value
$951,200
Median Age
62.7
Poverty Rate
10.1%
Labor force participation
52.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
60.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2591.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
335.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2255.3
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Folly Beach's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,074 residents
2021
2,065 residents
2022
2,083 residents
2023
2,088 residents
2024
2,092 residents
2025
2,081 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
14
housing units authorized
Single-Family
14
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
14.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
26
26
0
$10.5M
2020
10
10
0
$8.0M
2021
33
33
0
$22.3M
2022
18
18
0
$15.4M
2023
13
13
0
$13.9M
2024
14
14
0
$13.9M
Permit volume decreased 46% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
18.6 minutes
Drive Alone
49.1%
Carpool
5.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
34.8%
Other
10.5%
Based on 485 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 Folly Beach. 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 Folly Beach 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 Folly Beach sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Folly Beach 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, 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.