Pawleys Island, South Carolina Short-Term Rental Market
Pawleys Island, SC STRs averaged $467/night at 71.5% occupancy in June 2026, with revenue up 4.6% year over year.
Quick Answer: Pawleys Island, South Carolina is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 71%. average monthly revenue is $8,237. average daily rate is $467. the top operator is The Litchfield Company with 403 listings. market score is 53/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Pawleys Island/Georgetown regional market, which includes Pawleys Island. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Pawleys Island.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Pawleys Island, a barrier-island beach town on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast in Georgetown County, posted a $466.63 average daily rate at 71.5% occupancy for June 2026, the latest tracked month, with average revenue per listing of $8,237, among the highest in this data set. Occupancy and ADR both dipped slightly year over year, down 1.2% each, while revenue still rose 4.6%. The market’s investability score is a strong 88.18 out of 100, with rental demand at 75.16, though the total score is held to 52.53 by a 47.50 seasonality score and 58.95 regulation score.
Entire-place listings dominate at 98.1% of the roughly 2,800 tracked units, with private rooms just 1.9%. Bedroom mix skews toward larger homes relative to most markets: three-bedroom units are the largest segment at 25.9% of the 2,798 bedroom-tagged listings, followed by two-bedrooms at 24.3%, five-plus-bedrooms at 20.1% (a notably large luxury-home share), four-bedrooms at 13.9%, and one-bedrooms at just 15.8%. On booking channel, 57.8% of listings are dual-listed on both Airbnb and VRBO, 26.5% are VRBO-only, and just 15.7% are Airbnb-only, the highest VRBO concentration in this batch of markets.
The incorporated town has only about 130 year-round residents, but the broader Pawleys Island/Waccamaw Neck area is home to roughly 16,200 people and functions as a vacation-rental-dominated economy rather than a hotel-driven one. Tourism drives an estimated $300 million-plus in annual economic impact for Georgetown County, which collected a record $3.6 million in accommodations taxes for the year ending May 2025, up 7.4% year over year. Pawleys Island was named USA Today/10Best’s ‘Best Beach in South Carolina’ in both 2024 and 2025.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29% | $254 | $2,094 |
| Feb | 51% | $228 | $2,420 |
| Mar | 58% | $255 | $3,251 |
| Apr | 57% | $292 | $3,946 |
| May | 58% | $329 | $4,598 |
| Jun | 73% | $383 | $6,669 |
| Jul | 76% | $347 | $6,528 |
| Aug | 61% | $316 | $4,820 |
| Sep | 50% | $287 | $3,718 |
| Oct | 46% | $269 | $3,231 |
| Nov | 37% | $270 | $2,539 |
| Dec | 34% | $253 | $2,306 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Pawleys Island
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Litchfield Company | 403 | 1,924 | ★ 4.34 |
| 2 | Tidelife Vacation Rentals | 196 | 3,965 | ★ 4.70 |
| 3 | DeBordieu Rentals | 145 | 1,811 | ★ 4.51 |
| 4 | Dune Beach Home Rentals | 142 | 326 | ★ 4.58 |
| 5 | The Dieter Company Vacation Rentals | 112 | 323 | ★ 4.76 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Pawleys Island?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 443 |
| 2 bed | 679 |
| 3 bed | 724 |
| 4 bed | 390 |
| 5 bed | 562 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $471 |
| Luxury | $721 |
| Professionally Managed | $571 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $6,183 |
| Entire Place | $8,329 |
| House | $10,596 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 15.7% |
| vrbo | 26.5% |
| both | 57.8% |
Investment Analysis
Pawleys Island’s typical home value is $542,906, with a median sale price of $519,833 and a 105.6% sale-to-list ratio, indicating homes are selling above asking, with 245 homes for sale and a fast 38-day median time to pending as of the April 2026 housing snapshot. Using the 2025 full-year average revenue of $4,583 per month, annualized to $54,996, estimated gross rental yield is approximately 10.1% of the typical home value, before taxes and operating costs.
Across ADR tiers, the all-listings average of $466.63 compares to $471.45 for entire-home listings, essentially matched, $570.77 for professionally managed listings (up 22.3%), and $721.32 for the luxury tier (up 54.6% over the market-wide average). Revenue by property type varies sharply: houses averaged $10,596 in June, 27.2% above entire-place listings at $8,329 and 71.4% above apartments at $6,183, among the widest house-versus-apartment revenue gaps in this batch.
Revenue rose 4.6% year over year even as occupancy and ADR both edged down about 1.2%, an unusual combination that likely reflects a shift in the property mix toward higher-earning larger homes rather than broad market strength. The 88.18 investability score is among the strongest in this data set, while the 58.95 regulation score reflects a currently minimal STR permit regime; no municipal business license or STR-specific permit exists in Pawleys Island today, though town officials have discussed adopting one.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
Run a Free Address Analysis
Skip the market averages. Get revenue projections, comp analysis, and ROI for your specific property address. Free, instant, no signup required.
Analyze My Property →Home Value Trends (Pawleys Island)
Booking Insights
Pawleys Island’s average booking window runs 90.9 days of lead time, nearly three months and the longest in this batch of markets, with a 4.40-night average length of stay. The extended lead time is consistent with a higher-end, larger-home market, over a third of listings have four or more bedrooms, where guests coordinate multi-family or multi-generational group trips well in advance.
For owners, a 91-day lead time supports early-bird pricing and advance-deposit strategies timed well ahead of the June-July peak, when occupancy runs 73% to 76%. With occupancy below 50% from October through January, a four-month stretch, and revenue dropping as low as $2,094 in January, owners of larger homes especially should budget for a pronounced winter slowdown even though the property type itself commands a revenue premium in peak season. The 90-day window is notably longer than shorter-lead-time coastal markets nearby, suggesting Pawleys Island’s guest base plans further in advance, consistent with its positioning as a quieter, more deliberately chosen alternative to the busier Grand Strand strip to the north.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term vacation rentals are legal and deeply embedded in Pawleys Island’s economy; the island functions as a classic Airbnb/Vrbo market with rentals rather than hotels. There is currently no documented STR permit, cap on rental nights, owner-occupancy, or primary-residence requirement. The town’s only STR prohibition on record was a temporary COVID-19 emergency ordinance that banned check-ins from March 28 to mid-May 2020, since expired.
As of recent reporting, the Town of Pawleys Island does not impose a municipal business license at all, reportedly the only nearby coastal town without one, though the town council has discussed adopting one, which could add a future licensing or fee requirement. Operators must register with the South Carolina Department of Revenue and collect lodging taxes: roughly 7% state tax on accommodations (6% sales plus 1% state accommodations) plus a 3% local accommodations tax administered by Georgetown County, for a combined lodging tax of about 10%. Stays of 30 or more continuous nights by the same guest are exempt as non-transient.
Enforcement is rated minimal, consistent with the absence of a permit regime. Investors should verify the latest requirements directly with Town Hall and Georgetown County Finance before purchasing, since a business-license program remains under active consideration and could change the regulatory picture.
Market Comparison
Pawleys Island’s 71.5% June occupancy runs well above the roughly 55% national median for short-term rentals, and its $466.63 ADR is more than double the roughly $220 national median ADR, among the highest ADRs in this batch of markets, reflecting the island’s upscale, larger-home inventory where single-family houses average $10,596 in monthly revenue. Revenue rose 4.6% year over year even as occupancy and ADR each slipped roughly 1.2%.
Top property managers in the market include The Litchfield Company (403 listings, 1,924 reviews, 4.34 average rating), Tidelife Vacation Rentals (196 listings, 3,965 reviews, 4.70 rating), and DeBordieu Rentals (145 listings, 1,811 reviews, 4.51 rating). Combined, these top three managers operate 744 listings, about 27% of the roughly 2,800 tracked units. The Dieter Company Vacation Rentals (112 listings, 323 reviews) posts the highest average rating among the top five at 4.76. Dune Beach Home Rentals rounds out the top five with 142 listings and 326 reviews. No single national brand dominates the way Vacasa does in some coastal markets, indicating Pawleys Island’s rental stock remains largely managed by regional and boutique firms rather than one large consolidator.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pawleys Island, South Carolina
What is the average daily rate for a Pawleys Island short-term rental?
What occupancy rate can Pawleys Island STR owners expect?
Is a permit required to operate a short-term rental in Pawleys Island?
What is the occupancy tax on Pawleys Island short-term rentals?
What is the estimated gross rental yield for a Pawleys Island STR?
When is the best time to book a Pawleys Island vacation rental?
How much more do beach houses earn than apartments in Pawleys Island?
Analyze Pawleys Island Rentals
Use our free calculator to estimate Airbnb revenue for any property in Pawleys Island.
Free Pawleys Island STR Calculator →
