National protected areas

• Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
  ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
  The Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge is a portion of the larger ACE Basin area, and the only portions that are federally protected. The wildlife refuge is divided into two units: the Edisto River unit and the Combahee River unit....
  
   (part)
• Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
  Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge
  The Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Beaufort County, South Carolina between the mainland and Hilton Head Island...
  
  

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 155,215 people, 45,532 households, and 33,056 families residing in the county. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 206 people per square mile (80/km²). There were 84,530 housing units at an average density of 103 per square mile (40/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.66% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 23.98% Black

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.27% Native American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.79% Asian

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.05% Pacific Islander

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 2.84% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.41% from two or more races. 6.79% of the population were Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race.

There were 45,532 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.40% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,992, and the median income for a family was $52,704. Males had a median income of $30,541 versus $25,284 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the county was $25,377. About 8.00% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

As of the 2000 census, the population of Beaufort County was 71% urban and 29% rural. It contained the Beaufort (2000 pop.: 48,875), Hilton Head Island (47,821), and Bluffton (38,876) Urban Clusters. The Hilton Head and Bluffton clusters may be merged by the 2010 census. The populations of Beaufort and Jasper Counties are joined as the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan Area with a total 2005 estimated population of 159,247 (87% within Beaufort County).

Cities and towns

• Beaufort
  Beaufort, South Carolina
  Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
  
  
• Bluffton
  Bluffton, South Carolina
  The weather in the Bluffton, SC area is typical of the Southeast with generally mild temperatures from Fall through Spring and a warm and humid Summer. There can be occasionally snow flurries in the winter but that is quite unusual....
  
  
• Burton
  Burton, South Carolina
  Burton is a census-designated place in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,976 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S...
  
  

• Hilton Head Island
  Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
  Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a resort town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is north of Savannah, Georgia, and south of Charleston. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton...
  
  
• Laurel Bay
  Laurel Bay, South Carolina
  Laurel Bay is a census-designated place and military housing complex in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,891 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S...
  
  
• Parris Island
  Parris Island, South Carolina
  Parris Island is a former census-designated place , currently a portion of Port Royal in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger...
  
  

• Port Royal
  Port Royal, South Carolina
  Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
  
  
• Shell Point
  Shell Point, South Carolina
  Shell Point is a census-designated place in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,336 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S...
  
  
• Yemassee
  Yemassee, South Carolina
  Yemassee is a town in Beaufort and Hampton counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 1,027 at the 2010 census. Yemassee is also very near the borders of Colleton and Jasper counties and is often considered to be the geographical center or heart of the Lowcountry region...
  
  

Unincorporated communities

• Frogmore
  Frogmore, South Carolina
  Frogmore is an unincorporated community in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, along U.S. Route 21. Halfway between the Beaufort and Hunting Island State Park, the Frogmore area is primarily rural with easy access to the coast. The Beaufort airport is approximately three miles from...
  
  
• Pocotaligo
• Pritchardville
  Pritchardville, South Carolina
  Pritchardville is an unincorporated community in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, located between Hardeeville and Bluffton on South Carolina Highway 46. The community takes its name from nearby Pritchard Farms....
  
  
• Sheldon
  Sheldon, South Carolina
  Sheldon is an unincorporated community in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, at latitude 32.602 and longitude -80.793. The elevation is 23 feet. Sheldon appears on the Sheldon U.S. Geological Survey Map. The Old Sheldon Church Ruins are located nearby. US 17 and 21 run through the...
  
  

Named islands

Some islands are also towns.

• Barataria Island
• Bull Island
• Callawassie Island
• Cane Island
• Coosaw Island
• Dataw Island
• Daufuskie Island
• Fripp Island
  Fripp Island, South Carolina
  Fripp Island is a 6.546 sq mi barrier island located along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of South Carolina, about 20 miles from Beaufort...
  
  
• Grays Hill
• Harbor Island
  Harbor Island, South Carolina
  Harbor Island is a small resort island located 14 miles east of Beaufort, South Carolina. It is one of the Carolina Sea Islands. The majority of the island is tidal marsh, though approximately of upland acreage exist on the northeastern portions of the island.The island was uninhabited and used...
  
  
• Hilton Head Island
  Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
  Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a resort town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is north of Savannah, Georgia, and south of Charleston. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton...
  
  
• Hunting Island
  Hunting Island State Park
  Hunting Island is a secluded semitropical barrier island located about east of Beaufort, South Carolina. It is the most-visited state park in South Carolina and is a part of the ACE Basin estuarine reserve area. It is one of the Sea Islands...
  
  

• Lady's Island
  Lady's Island (South Carolina)
  Lady's Island is a predominantly residential Sea Island located in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Portions of the island are within the corporate limits of the City of Beaufort, while other sections remain unincorporated....
  
  
• Lemon Island
• Little Capers Island (uninhabited)
• Morgan Island
• Parris Island
  Parris Island, South Carolina
  Parris Island is a former census-designated place , currently a portion of Port Royal in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger...
  
  
• Poppy Hill
• Port Royal
  Port Royal, South Carolina
  Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
  
  
• Pritchard Island (uninhabited research station)
• Saint Helena Island
• Spring Island
• St. Phillips Island
• Warsaw Island

Notable people

• Pat Conroy
  Pat Conroy
  Pat Conroy , is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films.-Early life:...
  
  , author
• Joe Frazier
  Joe Frazier
  Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
  
  , boxer
• Bob Inglis
  Bob Inglis
  Robert Durden "Bob" Inglis, Sr. is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and then again from 2005 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party...
  
  , politician
• Greg Jones, football player
• James Saxon
  James Saxon (American football)
  James Saxon is a former American football running back who played eight seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for San Jose State University...
  
  , football player
• Duncan Sheik
  Duncan Sheik
  Duncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
  
  , musician
• Wayne Simmons
  Wayne Simmons (American football)
  Wayne General Simmons was an American football linebacker in the National Football League.Simmons, an integral part of Clemson's #1 ranked defense in 1990, was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the 15th pick of the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Simmons played for Green Bay for four and a...
  
  , football player
• Stan Smith
  Stan Smith
  Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...
  
  , tennis player
• D. J. Trahan
  D. J. Trahan
  Donald Roland "D.J." Trahan, Jr. is an American professional golfer.Trahan was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he attended Hilton Head Island High School. He then moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina where he attended and graduated from Paul M....
  
  , golfer
• Kathryn R. Wall
  Kathryn R. Wall
  Kathryn R. Wall is an American author of mystery novels. Her protagonist, Bay Tanner, is a young widow residing on Hilton Head Island and in Beaufort County, South Carolina.- Books :*In For A Penny *And Not A Penny More ...
  
  , American author of mystery novels

In popular culture

• The Big Chill
  The Big Chill (film)
  The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. It is about a group of baby boomer college friends who reunite briefly after 15 years due to...
  
  
• Forrest Gump
  Forrest Gump
  Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
  
  
• Platoon
  Platoon (film)
  Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth....
  
  
• The Prince of Tides
  The Prince of Tides
  The Prince of Tides is a 1991 romantic drama film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Pat Conroy; the film stars Barbra Streisand and Nick Nolte. It tells the story of the narrator's struggle to overcome the psychological damage inflicted by his dysfunctional childhood in South Carolina...
  
  
• Full Metal Jacket
  Full Metal Jacket
  Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...
  
  
• The Great Santini
  The Great Santini
  The Great Santini is a 1979 film which tells the story of a Marine officer whose success as a military aviator contrasts with his shortcomings as a husband and father. The film explores the high price of heroism and self-sacrifice...
  
  
• The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy
• The Tara Rumor
• Commandment Keeper Church
• To Live as a Free Man
• Les Marines
• Daughters of the Dust
  Daughters of the Dust
  Daughters of the Dust is a 1991 independent film written, directed and produced by Julie Dash. It tells the story of three generations of Gullah women at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the family's migration from the Sea Islands to the American mainland.Featuring an unusual narrative...
  
  
• The War
  The War (film)
  The War is a 1994 drama film directed by Jon Avnet. Starring Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham. It is a coming of age tale set in Mississippi in the 1970s...
  
  
• The Jungle Book
  The Jungle Book
  The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
  
  
• Chasers
  Chasers
  Chasers is a 1994 comedy film directed by Dennis Hopper. It is about a pair of United States Navy SPs who must escort a beautiful prisoner , and the troubles they encounter.- Plot :...
  
  
• Something to Talk About
  Something to Talk About (film)
  Something to Talk About is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, from a screenplay written by Callie Khouri. It stars Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid as an estranged couple, Kyra Sedgwick as Roberts's sister, and Robert Duvall and Gena Rowlands as their parents. The...
  
  

• White Squall
  White Squall (film)
  White Squall is a 1996 American drama feature film, directed by Ridley Scott.-Plot:The film is based on the fate of the brigantine Albatross, which sank on 2 May 1961, allegedly because of a white squall. The film relates the ill-fated school sailing trip led by Dr. Christopher B. Sheldon , whom...
  
  
• Last Dance
  Last Dance (film)
  Last Dance is a 1996 film starring Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid and Peter Gallagher. The prison where the film was shot is in Ridgeland, South Carolina.-Plot:...
  
  
• The Simpsons Movie
  The Simpsons Movie
  The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
  
  
• Gone Fishin'
  Gone Fishin' (film)
  Gone Fishin' is a 1997 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci and Danny Glover as two bumbling fishing enthusiasts. Nick Brimble, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield, and Willie Nelson costar.-Plot synopsis:...
  
  
• G.I. Jane
  G.I. Jane
  G.I. Jane is a 1997 American action film directed by Ridley Scott, produced by Largo Entertainment, Scott Free Productions and Caravan Pictures, distributed by Hollywood Pictures and starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen. The film tells the fictional story of the first woman to undergo training...
  
  
• Animal
  Animal (2005 film)
  Animal is a 2005 direct-to-video film starring Ving Rhames, Terrence Howard, Jim Brown and Chazz Palminteri. It was directed by David J. Burke and written by David C. Johnson. The film's profits were the subject of a lawsuit against the film's distributor, DEJ Productions. The case was still active...
  
  
• Forces of Nature
  Forces of Nature
  Forces of Nature is a 1999 romantic comedy film, directed by Bronwen Hughes, and starring Academy Award winners Ben Affleck, and Sandra Bullock.-Plot:...
  
  
• Rules of Engagement
  Rules of Engagement (film)
  Rules of Engagement is a 2000 American film directed by William Friedkin and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson plays Marine Colonel Terry Childers, who is brought to court-martial on charges of disobeying the rules of engagement in a military incident at an American embassy...
  
  
• The Legend of Bagger Vance
  The Legend of Bagger Vance
  The Legend of Bagger Vance is a 2000 American film directed by Robert Redford and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. It is based on the 1995 book of the same title by Steven Pressfield and takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1931...
  
  
• Because of Winn Dixie
• In For a Penny
• And Not a Penny More
• Perdition House
• Judas Island
• Resurrection Road
• Bishop's Reach
• Sanctuary Hill
• The Mercy Oak

Further reading

• Lawrence S. Rowland; "The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina"; 1996, University of South Carolina Press, ISBN 1-57003-090-1.

External links

• Beaufort County official website
• History and Nature of Beaufort County, South Carolina – Beaufort County Library
• Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Hilton Head - Bluffton Chamber of Commerce
• Beaufort County Information Page, from SCIway.net
• Beaufort County Library
• Arts Council of Beaufort County
• The Beaufort Gazette - Daily newspaper circulating primarily "north of the Broad"
• The Island Packet - Daily newspaper circulating primarily "south of the Broad"