Surfside Beach is a very small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of South Carolina. With a population of 4,280 people and two associated neighborhoods, Surfside Beach is the 86th largest community in South Carolina. Surfside Beach real estate is some of the most expensive in South Carolina, although Surfside Beach house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Surfside Beach is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Surfside Beach is a town of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Surfside Beach who work in sales jobs (8.93%), management occupations (8.75%), and maintenance occupations (8.69%). Of important note, Surfside Beach is also a town of artists. Surfside Beach has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Surfside Beach’s character. A relatively large number of people in Surfside Beach telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.64% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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 Surfside Beach is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Surfside Beach’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live. One of the nice things about Surfside Beach is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. Surfside Beach is a small town, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.The education level of Surfside Beach ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Surfside Beach, 41.02% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. The per capita income in Surfside Beach in 2022 was $38,687, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $154,748 for a family of four. However, Surfside Beach contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Surfside Beach home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Surfside Beach residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Surfside Beach include English, German, Irish, Italian, and European. The most common language spoken in Surfside Beach is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
