IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Kiawah Island, SC
Kiawah Island is a small town of 2,326 people in Charleston County, South Carolina. It's about 15 miles from Charleston, SC and 184 miles from Jacksonville, FL, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 89°F and winter highs 59°F, with almost no snow. The typical home is valued around $2.0M and rent runs about $2k a month.
2,326people
$2.0MTypical home
$1,620/moRent
89° / 59°Summer / winter
0"Snow
259Sunny days
Is Kiawah Island right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 2,326
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 208 people per sq mi
- 184 mi to Jacksonville, FL
- 15 mi to Charleston, SC
- 11 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $2.0M (≈$13k/mo)
- Median rent $1,620/mo
- Median household income $214k
- Property tax about 0.4% of value
- 2.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 89°F
- Winter highs around 59°F
- Steamy summers (dew point 74°F)
- 259 sunny days a year (104 totally clear)
- 106 cloudy days a year
- 32 of 90 winter days are gray
- Basically no snow
- Snow days are rare
- Rarely hits 100°F
- Rarely drops below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- About average violent crime (388 per 100k), county-wide
- About average property crime (2,086 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 67
- 5% of households have kids
- 50% are 65 or older
- 81% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 32 min
- 6% walk or take transit to work
- 19 mi to CHS airport
- 19 mi to CHS (major hub)
- 18 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 71% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1989
- 96% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 23 ft
- Right on the coast
- 41 mi to a big lake
- 37 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 109 mi to the nearest ski area
- 6 mi to the nearest campground
- 32 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 730 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 91 bars within 25 mi
- 120 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 5 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 34 museums within 25 mi
- 19 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 14 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 19% of South Carolina districts (reading)
- 5 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 13 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 13 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 8 mi to the nearest vet
- 8 mi to the nearest dog park
- 7 congregations per 10k people
- 13 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Charleston County: D+6 in 2024
- South Carolina: R+18 in 2024
Natural hazards
- High hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Moderate earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Low drought risk
- Very low winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.