Imagine Bluffton with no Walmart.
No Target. No Promenade. With only two grocery stores, none of them Kroger or Publix. No Bluffton Parkway. No Sun City. Not even an auto mall! Back in 1995, this was the case. Well, some of Sun City was around. Bluffton sure has grown in the last 30 years. During that time, the population has risen by over 39,000!
Below is a little blast from the past, a breakdown of Bluffton’s population through the years and an insight into the Town’s appeal to new residents.
The 1990s and 2000s
In 1990, the total number of residents in Bluffton was 738. The development of Hilton Head Island, along with nearby Sun City and its related projects in the 1990s, revitalized commercial activity within the town. By the year 2000, the population was a mere 1,275.
It’s hard to believe that between 2000 and 2023, Bluffton experienced remarkable growth, with its population increasing at an average annual rate of 60.28%. Over the 23-year period, the town’s population surged by an astounding 1386.42%
Between 2010 and 2020, Bluffton experienced remarkable growth, adding 17,000 new residents at a growth rate of 158%.
This surge made it the 17th largest municipality in South Carolina by population, ranking fourth in the state for in migration. Bluffton’s boundaries also expanded significantly, growing from just one square mile in 1987 to 54 square miles today. It is now the largest municipality in Beaufort County by land area and the second largest by population, with 27,716 residents recorded in the 2020 Census.
Most of Bluffton’s new development has occurred in Planned Unit Developments like Palmetto Bluff, New Riverside, and Buckwalter Place.
Additionally, some parts of greater Bluffton, such as areas along May River Road, Bluffton Parkway, and Grande Oaks, fall under Beaufort County’s jurisdiction rather than the Town itself. For consistency, data on Bluffton sometimes references a larger “Study Area,” which includes these unincorporated sections.
The Study Area saw significant population growth, with numbers rising 44% from 31,324 in 2010 to 45,185 in 2020, and a staggering 300% increase since 2000 when the population was just 11,336. Projections indicate this trend will continue, with the population expected to reach 65,000 by 2040, adding around 19,000 new residents over the next two decades.
This rapid growth has driven housing demand, leading to substantial increases in home prices and rents. Between 2000 and 2020, the average home sales price climbed 43% from $339,400 to $485,900, or 122% when adjusted for inflation. If this trend continues, rising costs may make Bluffton less affordable for both current and future residents.
Post Covid Growth
With the pandemic, people realized they could work from anywhere. With this realization, many people from urban areas sought out a lower cost of living, like that of South Carolina. Then there’s the warmer weather. Outdoor activities were acceptable during Covid, and who doesn’t love a milder winter? Folks from all over, but especially the northeast, flocked to the Lowcountry.
Between 2020 and 2023, Bluffton saw a remarkable population increase of 6,905 people, a growth rate of 24.37%. South Carolina was the second-highest in state migration in the country. During that same period, the United States as a whole, experienced a significantly smaller growth rate of just 1.02%.
Today
As of 2025 Bluffton has a population of 39,846. There seems to be no stopping this Bluffton boom any time soon.
Sources: https://www.neilsberg.com, https://www.townofbluffton.sc.gov
