Why tiny rural enclave has seen rapid influx of wealthy white homeowners - and what locals think of it

A small, rural county in South Carolina has seen its white population surge in recent years, with no county in the US paralleling its explosive growth. 

Jasper County, tucked away in the state's southeastern corner, has seen its share of white residents swell as more and more retirees flock to the area in search of warmer weather and lower taxes.

As a result, the burgeoning white population can be largely attributed to retirement-age people who have migrated there.

One of the positive effects of this influx of retirees has been the proliferation in the area of 55+ communities, like Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head. 

The retiree migration is an unsettling trend, one that began in Hilton Head a few decades ago before ultimately arriving in Jasper County, which is located between Savannah and Beaufort County.

According to the US Census Bureau, Jasper County experienced the fastest growth of any county in South Carolina, and it was the ninth fastest growing county in the nation.

A majority of that growth has occurred in the towns of Ridgeland and Hardeeville, according to the Post and Courier. 

Today, Ridgeland's population is roughly seven times what it was in 1990, while Ridgeland, with less than 4,000 residents, anticipates having more than 40,000 in two decades.

When the 2020 census was conducted, Jasper County was already primarily white - 44 percent compared to its black population of 40 percent. Hispanic people accounted for almost all of the rest of the total.

But by 2023, the white population further ballooned, according to recently released census estimates. 

The data revealed that the number of White residents had increased, rendering them 48 percent of the population.

While the number of Black residents didn't really change, because of the surge in the White population, their percentage was diluted.

The Black share of the population plummeted to 32 percent. 

One Black Jasper County local expressed little surprise about the changing racial makeup in the area. 

Reginald White, whose family has owned property in the Cherry Hill neighborhood, told the post and courier that 'the area's fast-growing white population and slowly shrinking black population came as no surprise.'

He explained that much of the county's economic lifeblood comes from the hospitality industry, which is located in neighboring Beaufort County.

Mr. White revealed that many young black people are leaving the area in the hopes of finding higher-paying jobs farther afield. He said he's witnessed this happen in his own family. 

'In order to find those better-paying jobs, a lot of people are leaving the area,' White noted. 

He continued: 'I would say that the economics of Jasper County are causing a lot of young folks to leave for better career opportunities.'

In 2023, Jasper County's Administrator, Andrew Fulghum, told the Courier, that the county's explosive growth sprang from an influx of retirees. 

The county features many benefits to the prospective new resident, including a growing housing supply, a median housing cost that's roughly $150,000 cheaper than in Beaufort County, and quick access to the interstate. 

The latest census data seems to bear out Fulghum's assertion. In 2020, 28 percent of the residents in Jasper County were over 59 years old. Only three years later, it's now 34 percent. 

Another draw for the retirees is the Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head, a vast, 55+ community that covers over 2,700 acres in southern Jasper County.