Hilton Head-Bluffton-Beaufort region named one of nation’s ‘most successful small cities’
Beaufort County made its way onto yet another of the “nation’s best cities” lists.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise since towns in the region — Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head — are consistently ranked for their beauty and small-town feel.
This time, though, someone noticed a different aspect of the Lowcountry towns, ranking the three cities collectively as No. 14 on “The Most Successful Small Cities in America.”
The list, which pulls information from the Milken Institute’s 2018 Best-Performing Cities Report, ranked the cities based on job growth, wage growth and other factors.
“The big city exodus is providing an opening for small cities looking to attract talent and modernize their economies,” the list said. “From tech to tourism, some smaller metros are providing to new residents big city-style living at a fraction of the cost.”
According to the list, the three cities have a population of 202,502 and a 3% unemployment rate, though the U.S. census estimates the entire county’s population is 188,715.
The notable industry in the area? Obviously, tourism. But also real estate, retail and health care.
In contrast, a separate list compiled this month by 24/7 Wall St. ranked the trio of cities 18th highest nationwide in numbers of working poor.
The list measured the ratio of the official poverty rate in each area to the same area’s poverty rate among full-time year-round workers between the ages of 16 and 64.
The official poverty rate for the Hilton Head-Bluffton-Beaufort area was 13.4%, with 3.8% of the full-time workforce living in poverty, according to the list.
“A vacation destination for roughly 2.7 million visitors every year, the Hilton Head Island metro area is one of several tourist hubs where a relatively large share of full-time workers live in poverty because of low-wage jobs,” it says, adding that about 15% of the Hilton Head workforce is employed by the “leisure and hospitality sector.”
According to the study, an average worker in that sector earns $430 a week, which is less than half the $1,101 average weekly wage for workers across all industries.
