Brunswick-St. Simons, GA

Metro Area Profile

115,074 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Brunswick-St. Simons, GA metropolitan area.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 27% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 10% of 379 metros measured80
GrowthTop 16% of 821 metros measured72
Housing affordability533rd of 822 metros measured89
ClimateTop 4% of 822 metros measured81
Physical resilience628th of 822 metros measured35
AccessTop 4% of 822 metros measured99
Economic stability739th of 822 metros measured20
The quick read

Brunswick-St. Simons ranks in the top 10% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.1% and median household income of $66,623.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, coastal flooding and wildfire.

A major airport is 8 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
115,074
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$66,623
Top 50% nationally
Density
89/sq mi
1294.2 sq mi of land
Median age
43.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Brunswick-St. Simons, GA
Nearest major airport
BQK
8 mi · Brunswick Golden Isles
Median home value
$242,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 94% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 1.7% over the past year, to 56,196 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,703$66,623Top 50%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,438$39,483Top 30%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate16.9%Top 24%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.2 minTop 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher28.3%Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment56,196Bottom 16%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)4.4%Top 7%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.7%Top 8%of 379June 2026
Labor force57,993Bottom 16%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation55.3%Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$55,010Bottom 18%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$41,940Bottom 7%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment46,860Bottom 12%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.0%Bottom 46%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate3.1%Bottom 6%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.12.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Brunswick-St. Simons, GA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,790$30,200
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,620$26,770
Waiters and Waitresses1,510$18,250
Cashiers1,340$27,810
Registered Nurses1,010$82,630
General and Operations Managers1,000$84,770

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average, on the Bureau of Economic Analysis index. Housing drives most of that difference.

Median rent of $1,080 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.6 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Cost of living
89.9

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Rent as a share of income
19.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,080
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$242,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index89.9Bottom 25%of 3812023
Home price to income3.64Top 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate69.9%Top 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4758,648Top 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$53$1,080Top 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,815$242,500Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.5%Top 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate19.5%Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
72/ 100
Top 16% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 117,135 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 6% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 6.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
725
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.3
Top 18% nationally
Year over year
−7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
6.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024117k114k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 44°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.4 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BRUNSWICK MALCOLM MCKINNON AP, 15.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND6.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation45.4"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low44°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months81991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing31°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

35 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, coastal flooding and wildfire.

HurricaneHigh
WildfireElevated
Coastal floodingElevated
EarthquakeModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, ice storm, strong wind, inland flooding, tornado, hail, winter weather, drought, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 8 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Brunswick Golden IslesBQK8 mi8,001 ft
Jacksonville IntlJAX56 mi10,000 ft
Savannah/Hilton Head IntlSAV61 mi9,351 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
70
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.