Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetSC-ISLE-OF-PALMS-SC · Isle of Palms, SC 4,350 pop · income 94th 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 Isle of Palms
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Isle of Palms on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
North Wilkesb… · lowest
39,288
North Wilkesb… · lowest
39,288 median HH income
16.0% of the leader · rank #1
Fair Lawn · near
147,952
Fair Lawn · near
147,952 median HH income
60.3% of the leader · rank #2
Hicksville · near
148,008
Hicksville · near
148,008 median HH income
60.3% of the leader · rank #3
Isle of Palms · this city
148,029
Isle of Palms · this city
148,029 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #4
Rowena · near
148,036
Rowena · near
148,036 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #5
Seaville · near
148,095
Seaville · near
148,095 median HH income
60.4% of the leader · rank #6
Union Mill · highest
245,265
Union Mill · highest
245,265 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 Isle of Palms 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: 4,350.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Isle of Palms - the verdict
Isle of Palms ranks in the 94th percentile for household income and the 47th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
94th
percentile, household income
98th
percentile, home value
46th
percentile, median rent
47th
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: Isle of Palms, SC
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 4,350 residents in Isle of Palms, a small town within South Carolina. Median household income here is $148,029 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 0.6%. Home values in Isle of Palms run a median of $1,192,200, and the median resident age is 54.2 years. 69.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 49.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 35 residential building permits were authorized in Isle of Palms (Building Boom), up 59% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Isle of Palms reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1462.2 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects 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). Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Isle of Palms'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 comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Isle of Palms, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Isle of Palms?
Within South Carolina, the closest population matches are Baxter (4,355 residents, $146,440 income); Woodruff (4,337 residents, $64,292 income); Belton (4,405 residents, $48,164 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Belleair, FL (4,350 residents); Hutchinson Island South, FL (4,350 residents); Union Mill, VA (4,351 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.
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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Isle of Palms?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1462.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 36% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in Isle of Palms?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 62.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Isle of Palms?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 8.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
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 Isle of Palms growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +29 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 35 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+0.7%
2025 estimate
4,377
2020 estimate
4,348
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Top-decile income · poverty 0.6% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.7 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, South Carolina average
A-
City profile score · Isle of Palms, SC
84/100
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+
69.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income A+
$148,029
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate A+
0.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Violent crime C+
137 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Isle of Palms profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 97/100 (A+) · 69.7%
Household income: 96/100 (A+) · $148,029
Poverty rate: 96/100 (A+) · 0.6%
Cost of living: 70/100 (B) · 93.7 index
Violent crime: 62/100 (C+) · 137 /100k
Where Isle of Palms sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Isle of Palms'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 - Isle of Palms highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Isle of Palms, SC (this city): home $1,192,200, crime 1,462/100k
Belleair, FL : home $642,600, crime 679/100k
Williamstown, MA : home $436,900, crime 967/100k
North Wilkesboro, NC : home $231,400, crime 2,313/100k
Woodruff, SC : home $188,500, crime 2,474/100k
Surfside Beach, SC : home $412,100, crime 2,079/100k
Duncan, SC : home $182,500, crime 2,171/100k
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 Isle of Palms compare to other US cities?
Where Isle of Palms sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income94% higher than other cities
Home value98% pricier than other cities
Median rent46% pricier than other cities
Safety47% 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: Isle of Palms ranks #21 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 Isle of Palms 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 Isle of Palms near the bottom of South Carolina's cities
Among the 441 South Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Isle of Palms ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Isle of Palms only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#6 of 403
99th percentile in South Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 441
0th percentile in South Carolina
Median Home Value
#5 of 404
99th percentile in South Carolina
Poverty Rate
#399 of 439
9th percentile in South Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#10 of 441
98th 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
94th percentile nationally for median household income · 47th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Isle of Palms's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Isle of Palms'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 Isle of Palms's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$1,192,2002nd percentilemore affordable than 2% 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
Isle of Palms's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,059 of 15,516
More affordable than 3% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,055 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 8.1×, Isle of Palms sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,059 of 15,516 and #11,055 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
$148,029Isle of Palms, SC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Isle of Palms, 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 Isle of Palms, SC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)69.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)49.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
4,350
Median Income
$148,029
Median Home Value
$1,192,200
Median Age
54.2
Poverty Rate
0.6%
Labor force participation
49.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
69.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1462.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
137.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1325.1
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
Isle of Palms's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
4,348 residents
2021
4,336 residents
2022
4,361 residents
2023
4,387 residents
2024
4,392 residents
2025
4,377 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
35
housing units authorized
Single-Family
35
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
22
22
0
$26.0M
2020
24
24
0
$22.8M
2021
48
48
0
$57.6M
2022
49
49
0
$77.2M
2023
20
20
0
$27.5M
2024
35
35
0
$113.9M
Permit volume increased 59% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
62.5%
Carpool
7.6%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
0.6%
Work from Home
26.5%
Other
2.3%
Based on 1,826 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 Isle of Palms. 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 Isle of Palms 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 Isle of Palms sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Isle of Palms 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.