Beaufort, SC

Beaufort County’s 2020 Census population was 187,117 and 29.2% were age 65 and over, which helps explain the retiree-oriented services and housing demand in the county (Census QuickFacts^[1]). South Carolina law gives owner-occupied legal residences a 4% assessment ratio, while other residential and commercial property is assessed at 6%, and Beaufort County says real estate taxes are due January 15 (Beaufort County Assessor^[2]). Beaufort County does not publish a simple citywide property-tax rate on the pages given here, so the best confirmed local tax fact is the 4% primary-residence assessment ratio rather than a single tax-rate figure (Beaufort County Assessor^[2]).

Beaufort Memorial is a not-for-profit acute-care hospital licensed for 201 beds, with 32 physician practices, two cancer centers, and three Express Care & Occupational Health clinics serving Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties (Beaufort Memorial^[3]). The hospital describes itself as the largest medical facility between Savannah and Charleston, and it says its medical staff includes nearly 320 board-certified or board-eligible providers (Beaufort Memorial^[3]). For a retiree, that means many routine and some specialty needs can be handled locally, while higher-acuity subspecialty care may still require trips to larger coastal referral centers in Savannah or Charleston (Beaufort Memorial^[3]).

South Carolina climate normals for Beaufort County show 1991-2020 annual precipitation of 45.02 inches at the Beaufort WWTP station, with annual average maximum temperature of 76.8 F and minimum temperature of 57.6 F (SC DNR Climate Data^[4]). Station-based NOAA normals for Beaufort MCAS show monthly average highs peaking around 92.4 F in July, with January minimum temperatures around 40.1 F (Climate Charts, NOAA normals summary^[5]). The same station shows annual precipitation of 45.02 inches and temperatures that generally support comfortable outdoor living in spring and fall more than midsummer (Climate Charts, NOAA normals summary^[5]).

The Beaufort County crime overview says the county had a total crime rate of 2013.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, with violent crime at 398.8 per 100,000 and property crime at 1614.7 per 100,000 in the available FBI UCR dataset (Beaufort County crime overview^[6]). It also notes the record is partial coverage with 13 reporting agencies for 2022, which is why a county-level FBI-derived figure is preferable to forcing a city estimate when reporting is incomplete (Beaufort County crime overview^[6]). The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office says it submits annual crime summaries to SLED for unincorporated Beaufort County, but a clean Beaufort city FBI rate or three-year city trend is not given here, so county-level reporting is partial and the county-level reported crime rate is elevated (Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office^[7], Beaufort County crime overview^[6]).

In Beaufort city, the median listing price is $461,500 and homes are taking a median 82 days on market, with the listing price down 0.21% month over month and down 5.05% year over year (Realtor.com^[8]). Countywide, Realtor.com reports a median home price of $499,900 and average days on market of 81, while Zillow puts the county median list price at $572,283 and median days to pending at 48, suggesting the broader county is more expensive and a bit faster-moving than the city proper (Realtor.com^[9], Zillow^[10]). Beaufort also has 55+ options nearby, including Sea Island Collective in Beaufort and several active-adult communities in the wider area, so retirees can choose between resale homes and age-restricted new construction (NewHomeSource^[11]).

The Beaufort Executive Airport is a public general aviation airport on Lady’s Island, with FAA ID ARW, but it is not a commercial airline airport (South Carolina Aeronautics^[12]). That means the practical commercial-air travel options are farther afield, typically Savannah/Hilton Head or Charleston, rather than a local jet airport in Beaufort itself (South Carolina Aeronautics^[12]). For a retiree who flies several times a year, Beaufort is convenient enough for regional access, but not a true drive-to-airport market (South Carolina Aeronautics^[12]).

Beaufort sits in a golf-rich part of the South Carolina Lowcountry, with Beaufort County also notable for its coastal outdoor recreation and warm climate that supports nearly year-round play (SC DNR Climate Data^[4]). Golf course inventories from public directories are not a government source, so course counts and greens-fee ranges should be treated as indicative rather than authoritative here. The key retiree takeaway is that Beaufort supports an active outdoor routine, especially golf, walking, kayaking, and water-oriented recreation rather than snow-season activities (SC DNR Climate Data^[4]).

Beaufort County’s 2020 Census population was 187,117, and 29.2% of residents were age 65 and over, which is a strong sign of a mature retirement market (Census QuickFacts^[1]). Beaufort County’s median age is not shown here, but the 65-plus share suggests an older-than-average population and a substantial retiree presence (Census QuickFacts^[1]). Beaufort’s appeal for retirees is the combination of historic downtown character, coastal access, and countywide services rather than big-city scale (Census QuickFacts^[1]).

The FEMA National Risk Index summary for Beaufort County gives the county a composite NRI score of 97.1 and a Relative Risk Rating of Relatively High (FEMA NRI summary^[13]). Its listed hazard scores are Hurricane 99.5, Flood 94.2, Earthquake 93.6, Wildfire 90.3, and Tornado 82.0, which makes coastal storm and flood exposure the headline hazard issue for retirees (FEMA NRI summary^[13]). EPA’s South Carolina page points residents to AirNow for current forecasts, but a Beaufort-specific annual good-air-days number is not given here (EPA South Carolina environmental information^[14], AirNow map^[15]).