Hilton Head’s working population is changing. Info about education, commute and more
When Hilton Head Island resident Ashley Douglas, 49, was looking to hire for her dog training business, Paws On Learning, she said received about 20 applications.
Of those 20, only about five of them were on the island.
Douglas’ dilemma represents a growing trend on Hilton Head. The number of people who work on the island, but don’t live there has gone up in recent years, impacting the island’s sense of community, concerning employers and worrying many who say they love living on the island, but they’ll be next to have to leave.
Lisa McDonell, 64, who works as a fitness attendant at the Island Rec Center, said she couldn’t imagine not living on the island, saying that it would impact her work and sense of place if she commuted in.
“I’m like the mayor,” she joked. “I know everybody and say hi to everybody.”
A 2023 assessment analyzed the characteristics of the town’s workforce, finding challenges that might prevent people like McDonnell from living on the island and other insights.
Here are the top seven workforce findings from the report:
There is more competition for labor as surrounding areas experience job and population growth
Recent island worker shortages have impacted local businesses.
Unemployment rates have been and continue to be low, especially when compared to the region.
Median annual earnings have been increasing over the last decade, most notably for high school graduates.
Higher education facilities on or near Hilton Head Island will continue to add to the workforce with high-demand local industry skills.
Residents have comparatively higher levels of educational attainment than the overall populations of Jasper and Beaufort Counties.
One in five resident occupations is in the food preparation and serving industry.
Commuting for Island residents decreased by almost 10% over the last decade while the share of residents that work from home has steadily increased.
More competition for labor
There were 21,400 total jobs on the island in 2020. The total number of jobs in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort Metropolitan Statistical Area increased by nearly 24% between 2000 and 2020. The Hilton Head area population’s relative plateau is contributing to a labor shortage because of gaps between the number of people and the number of jobs.
Recent worker shortages impacting businesses
Businesses are opening later, reducing hours and closing due to recent worker shortages.
For Douglas, the dog trainer, the problem came to a head a couple of weeks ago when she was hiring for a new position. She said she has difficulty hiring people who live off-island because of their commute.
“They get it in their head. ‘Oh, I’ll just drive to this job. Oh, it won’t be so bad,’” she said. “I can’t hire those people because two weeks later, they would be like ‘I can’t do this.’”
Unemployment rates continue to be low
The island’s unemployment is 3.1%, lower than the overall Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Hilton Head reached an all-time high unemployment rate of 6.8% during the national recession, and it peaked again during the COVID-19 pandemic but quickly recovered.
Median annual earnings are increasing
Annual median wages across the island increased 31% from $32,113 in 2010 to $42,059 in 2021, with high school graduates increasing their median wages by 76%.
Notably, median annual earnings on the island don’t just cover those working in restaurants or service-industry jobs. It also includes the growing number of people who live on the island but work from home. Hilton Head Island residents who work from home have gone up from 7% in 2010 to 15% in 2021.
Educational opportunities add to the workforce
Higher education in the area has programs targeting the tourism industry, including USCB-Hilton Head’s Hospitality Management program and TCL’s Culinary Institute of the South.
Residents are highly educated
Out of residents on Hilton Head, 52% had at least a bachelor’s degree compared to Beaufort County’s 42% and Jasper County’s 24%.
Food preparation and serving is the most common job
One in five working island residents is in the food preparation and serving industry, a higher ratio than any other job on the island.
Those working in this industry are paid an average of $34,000 a year on the island. Behind food workers comes office and administrative support workers, who account for 13% of the working population with average earnings of $47,000. The third most common job is sales, with the industry employing about 12% of the workforce and with $62,000 average earnings yearly.
Commuting decreased
The number of Hilton Head workers who live off-island has increased by 26%, while the number of workers who live on the island has decreased by 34% from 2002 to 2020.
The break-down is:
14,800 people are employed on-island but live off-island, compared to
8,400 people live and work on-island
6,400 people live on-island and are employed off-island
It’s not that workers want to leave the island workforce, they’re being forced to with rising housing costs. Housing costs are rising and while wages have increased, they’re not keeping pace, according to the assessment.
Residents like Cooper Bailey, 46, say they love living on the island. Bailey walks dogs for a living on Hilton Head and moved to the island in 2021. At the time, his rent for a one-bedroom was $1,300 a month, plus utilities. Now, it’s $1,555.
“I really worry about having either an incredibly large increase from year to year, which would price me, out,” he said. “Or I worry about some investor coming in buying our neighborhood and tearing it down for luxury units.”
His worries aren’t unfounded.
The average monthly rent in Beaufort County was $1,692 in 2022, and swelled from around $1,290 right before the pandemic in 2019. It’s a 33% increase that Bailey is slightly below, but he still worries.
“I would really love to buy a condo or something if I could,” he said. “I love Hilton Head and my long-term goal would be to stay here.”
