Pawleys Island is a tiny coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of South Carolina. With a population of 133 people and five associated neighborhoods, Pawleys Island is the 282nd largest community in South Carolina.

Pawleys Island home prices are not only among the most expensive in South Carolina, but Pawleys Island real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, Pawleys Island is also a town of artists. Pawleys Island has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Pawleys Island’s character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 28.57% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Another notable thing is that Pawleys Island is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.

In addition, Pawleys Island is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Pawleys Island has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Pawleys Island has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Pawleys Island than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Pawleys Island may be for you.

Pawleys Island is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Being a small town, Pawleys Island does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

If knowledge is power, Pawleys Island is a pretty powerful place. 79.41% of the adults in Pawleys Island have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Pawleys Island in 2022 was $146,647, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $586,588 for a family of four.

The people who call Pawleys Island home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Pawleys Island residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Pawleys Island include English, Irish, Scottish, Scots-Irish, and German.

The most common language spoken in Pawleys Island is English. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Arabic.