Reality Check: Is the Town of Hilton Head adding more new positions than in years past?
The Town of Hilton Head’s total employee increase aligns with higher revenue, but not with population and tourism numbers.
It added 37 full-time and six part-time employees since 2020, a 6.7% increase. It had a total of:
- 258 in 2020
- 260 in 2021
- 263 in 2022
- 274 in 2023
- 301 in 2024
The hiring coincides with an increase in town revenue from $78.9 million for the 2021 fiscal year to an estimated $129.95 million for the 2024 fiscal year, or a 64.7% increase. It doesn’t line up with the relative population and tourism plateaus. There was an estimated 3.2% increase in population from 37,661 in 2020 to 38,887 in 2024, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. The number of people coming over the Hilton Head bridge each day during the May 1 to Aug. 31 peak season averaged 30,400 in 2019 and 30,959 in 2023, or a 1.8% decrease.
The town added the most full-time employees in 2024 with 16 new positions, including an executive director for the town’s Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation, and a marketing and communications director.
The largest increase in staff came from the Public Safety Department, which was created in 2024 with a director and four staff. The next largest increase was to the fire department, with three full-time employees added in 2022.
In 2021 the town spent $26.87 million on personnel. For 2024, it is spending $36.3 million, a 35% increase.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 2:15 PM.
