Hilton Head Island Statistics
- Hilton Head Statistics Hilton Head Island’s economy is primarily tourism and real estate driven.
- More then $1.5 billion impacted the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton-Okatie economy in 2000 by 2.5 million visitors, several hundred of whom made the move permanent.
- Presently, there are more than 1,700 real estate agents employed on the Island. Of which, about 1,000 are actually Realtors who are held to a higher standard and must obey a Code of Ethics.
- 61% of local jobs are tourism-related.
- Approximately 43 percent of the 5,000 licensed Island enterprises are retail and service-oriented companies.
- Retail operations and restaurants in particular have flourished in the Hilton Head Island / Bluffton - Okatie area.
Hilton Head Tourism Statistics
- Tourism pumps more than $1.5 billion into the Hilton Head Island area economy annually.
- Tourist lodging facilities on Hilton Head Island pay nearly $20 million in property taxes to Beaufort County.
- Tourism in the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton-Okatie area employs over 10,000 people living both on the Island and in the surrounding communities.
- Sales taxes paid by visitors total $47 million. Taxes paid by tourists save every South Carolina taxpayer more than $200 each year in state taxes.
- Last year, $2.5 million taxes paid by tourists was awarded to community organizations to help:
- Nourish beaches
- Pay for the Island Recreation Center
- Support the Hilton Head Island College Center
- Build Bike Paths
- Support the Children’s Center
- Support various Cultural Organizations
- Beautify the Town with Landscaping and Much More!
- The Hilton Head Island tourism industry contributes millions of dollars each year to local charities and not-for-profit organizations…and that doesn’t even include United Way contributions from their employees.
- While the number of tourists to the Island has grown an average of 2% annually over the past five years, tax revenue from tourism has increased at more than double that rate: 4.8% annually for the same time period.
- This year’s visitors to Hilton Head Island are more educated and have higher household incomes than five years ago.
- Nearly all the growth in the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton-Okatie tourism has occurred during the winter months and is represented by the mature traveler market.
