Bluffton

Bluffton was established in 1825 on a bluff above the May River and incorporated in 1852, and that bluff still shapes how the town feels. Old Town runs down toward the water in a grid of small streets, listed on the National Register as a historic district in 1996, where a good deal of the original fabric is still standing.

Several of those buildings are still in use. The Church of the Cross on Calhoun Street, built in 1857 and listed in its own right in 1975, sits among houses of the same period. Campbell Chapel AME Church joined the Register in 2019. And the Garvin House, built by Cyrus Garvin after emancipation, looks out over the May River from county parkland, which makes it one of the few places where that chapter of Bluffton’s history can be seen on the ground.

The river forms Bluffton’s working edge, where the town’s history and everyday life continue to meet the water. At Oyster Factory Park on Wharf Street, a public boat ramp, waterfront pavilion and picnic tables create an easy connection to the river. Nearby, Wright Family Park preserves another part of Bluffton’s story. The restored Squire Pope Carriage House now serves as the town’s Welcome Center, which opened there in February 2025.

Around that old core, Bluffton has grown quickly. The 2020 Census counted 27,716 residents and 11,282 housing units, and by July 2025 the Bureau’s estimate had reached 36,807, a third higher in five years. Only 509 of those homes were held for seasonal or occasional use, about five in a hundred, so the people arriving are settling here rather than buying somewhere to visit.

The housing we handle matches that shape. It is overwhelmingly single family, with some townhouses and condominiums, and most of what we list here is newer construction. The jobs behind it are mostly health, hospitality and schools: the town’s own FY2025 report names Beaufort County School District within Bluffton at 1,080, EviCore and CareCore National at 600, Montage Palmetto Bluff at 581, Publix at 545 and Palmetto Bluff at 470.

The town publishes one point to check before you buy. A Bluffton mailing address does not mean a property is inside the town limits. Some addresses sit in unincorporated Beaufort County, including pockets entirely surrounded by the town, and that changes taxes and services.

Beaufort County School District serves the town and runs Bluffton Elementary, Bluffton Middle, Bluffton High and May River High. I-95 Exit 8 brings you in on US 278, then SC 46, and the town puts Hilton Head Island Airport 12 miles out and Savannah/Hilton Head International 26. The same US 278 corridor runs northwest out of town toward Okatie.

Sourced: founding and incorporation, Town of Bluffton. Population and housing units, U.S. Census Bureau 2020 count and Vintage 2025 estimate. Register listings and dates, National Park Service and the Town. Parks and the Welcome Center opening, Town of Bluffton. Employers, the Town’s FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Schedule 18. Airport distances, the Town’s FY2025 Popular Annual Financial Report. Seasonal use, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics file, table H5, vacancy status. Housing character, our own listing and sales records. Schools, Beaufort County School District directory.