Hilton Head-Bluffton may lose status as metropolitan area. What that could mean
A proposal by federal agencies could have consequences for public and private investment in Beaufort and Jasper counties, local leaders say.
Federal statistical agencies have recommended to the Office of Management and Budget that metropolitan statistical areas be required to have at least 100,000 people in their principal city or town — doubling the previous 50,000-population requirement that has been in place for 70 years.
The change would reclassify the area surrounding Hilton Head Island and Bluffton from a metropolitan statistical area to a micropolitan statistical area — a move that some local officials believe could result in fewer federal dollars for the Lowcountry.
Currently, the towns are considered the principal cities of a metro area encompassing Beaufort and Jasper counties, according to March 2020 Census records. As of July 2019, Hilton Head had a population of 39,861, and Bluffton had a population of 25,557, so combined they passed the 50,000 threshold.
AP recently reported that 144 principal cities of between 50,000 and 100,000 people would be reclassified as “micropolitan” areas under the proposal. The list includes Florence and Sumter, S.C., Hinesville, Ga., Brunswick, Ga., Valdosta, Ga., and Albany, Ga., where the population is 95,779.
Before 2013, the area surrounding Hilton Head Island and Bluffton was considered a micropolitan area. The area has witnessed tremendous growth in the past decade, with Bluffton’s population nearly doubling between 2010 and 2019.
The point of keeping track of metro areas is purely statistical and not to determine how much funding different areas get, according to the committee that made the recommendations. But in practicality, the classification as a metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, is often tied to housing and transportation funding, as well as investment from the private sector.
Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka said she hadn’t heard about the proposal and is frustrated that the federal government did not tell local officials about it.
The designation of Bluffton as a metropolitan area helps draw in the private sector, she said. That investment could be lost if the status is downgraded.
“People ... want a Costco, they want a Trader Joe’s, they want great health care systems,” Sulka said. “All those things, people rely on this analysis. And so it’s important if we’re growing, we need to have something to lure these [businesses] in.”
Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray said he found it “deeply concerning that they might categorize us differently.”
“While I know they’re saying it won’t affect funding immediately, it seems that the belief is that that’s the start,” he said. “My concern is making sure that we continue to have access to federal resources as we always have and maybe even greater as we continue to grow.”
Murray said the region’s transit authority, Palmetto Breeze, receives substantial funding from the federal government, and that the Boundary Street project in the city was partially funded by a federal grant. The city, he believes, has received some federal resources based on its being part of an MSA.
“We’ve got some pretty tremendous infrastructure challenges as the region grows, and we have limited funding streams on how we’re going to address those challenges,” Murray said. “Anything that’s going to take away access or limit the pools of money that we can go find should be very concerning to all local leaders.”
Hardeeville Mayor Harry Williams said it is important to watch for how the proposed change would affect rural areas.
“If these new designations affect funding to rural areas, then yes it would be a concern,” he said. “We would have to study where or how that would hurt us. We don’t have that information yet.”
The OMB is accepting comments on the proposal until March 19.
