Tybee Island, Georgia
Seal of Georgia
Tybee Island · Chatham County, Georgia
Population 3,121 (est. 2026: ~3,100)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + 0.06% annual growth projection

Tybee Island, Georgia

Chatham County, Georgia · Population 3,114

Tybee Island sits at the eastern end of US-80, eighteen miles from downtown Savannah, where the Savannah River meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is Georgia's easternmost point and the only barrier island in the state with a public beach accessible by car. The island is small — roughly five square miles — and the numbers reflect that: 3,114 residents, a median age of 61.4, and more vacant housing units than occupied ones. What looks like abandonment on paper is actually the signature of a resort and second-home community. On summer weekends, the population swells dramatically. The permanent community underneath that tourism economy is older, educated, and relatively affluent by Georgia standards.

People & Demographics

Tybee's permanent population of 3,126 is a fraction of Chatham County's 295,291. The median age of 61.4 is exceptionally high — well above both Chatham County and Georgia as a whole — reflecting the retirement-friendly appeal of a beach community and the fact that many younger families commute to Savannah rather than settle here permanently. The island's 1,457 households average 2.07 people, and only 374 residents are children under 18. The racial composition runs 2,928 white residents and 110 Black residents, with no reported Asian or Hispanic/Latino population in the ACS estimates.

Poverty is limited: 129 residents fall below the poverty line, consistent with the island's income profile. This is not a struggling community by the numbers, though seasonal employment and the cost of island living create economic pressures that raw income figures don't fully capture.

Economy & Employment

The 1,270 residents in the labor force reflect a relatively small working-age base. Of those, 46 are unemployed. The median household income of $101,289 and per capita income of $50,889 both sit well above Georgia's state medians, which track closer to $65,000 and $35,000 respectively. Tourism, hospitality, and service industries anchor Tybee's local economy, with Savannah serving as the broader employment hub for residents who commute off-island.

Housing

Of 3,304 total housing units, only 1,457 are occupied — a vacancy rate of roughly 56 percent. That figure is not distress; it is the arithmetic of a resort market where second homes and short-term rentals dominate. Owner-occupied units number 1,307; just 150 units are renter-occupied, making the rental market extremely tight. The median home value of $564,500 puts Tybee well above Chatham County norms and reflects both beachfront premiums and constrained supply on a barrier island. The median rent of $1,227 is modest relative to home values, but the near-absence of rental stock means availability matters more than price for anyone trying to rent here.

Schools

Tybee Island operates one school serving the island's children: Tybee Island Maritime Academy, a pre-K through 8th grade campus with 421 students. The school's maritime-themed curriculum reflects the island's character. For high school, Tybee students feed into the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System on the mainland.

Getting Around

Of 1,224 workers, 853 drive alone to work — no public transit is reported. Forty-one carpool, 48 walk, and 238 work from home, a notably high share that likely reflects the island's professional and retired demographic. The aggregate commute time across all workers totals 28,305 minutes, putting the average one-way trip at roughly 23 minutes. US-80, the single road on and off the island, is the de facto transportation system. During storm evacuations or summer beach traffic, that single corridor becomes a serious constraint.

Healthcare

No hospitals are located on Tybee Island itself. All major medical facilities are in Savannah, approximately 18 miles away. Options include Candler Hospital, Memorial Health University Medical Center (a trauma center and teaching hospital), St. Joseph's Hospital – Savannah, Coastal Harbor Treatment Center, and Georgia Regional Hospital Savannah. For local provider listings, the NPI Registry can be searched directly: Tybee Island, GA providers.

Library

The Tybee Library serves the island's permanent residents and visitors. Contact: 912-786-7733. It operates as a branch of the Live Oak Public Libraries system, which serves Chatham, Effingham, and Bryan counties.

Parks & Recreation

Two National Park Service sites are accessible from Tybee:

Fort Pulaski National Monument sits just off the causeway between Tybee and Savannah, managed by the NPS. It preserves a Civil War-era masonry fort where rifled cannon fire famously rendered brick fortifications obsolete in 1862. The Fort Pulaski Visitor Center is approximately 3.2 miles from the island.

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, located in Beaufort, South Carolina, is roughly 28 miles away and tells the story of the post-Civil War period in the coastal South.

The beach itself — under Georgia DNR jurisdiction — is the island's primary recreation draw. Tybee Island Lighthouse, one of the oldest and tallest lighthouses in the Southeast, is a local landmark open for tours.

Natural Hazards

Living on a Georgia barrier island means living on a hurricane target. Chatham County has accumulated fifteen federal disaster declarations since 1998, including major hurricane declarations for Matthew (2016), Irma (2017), Dorian (2019), Debby (2024), and Helene (2024). Hurricane Michael triggered an emergency declaration in 2018. The county also received a COVID-19 pandemic declaration in 2020.

The frequency here is not coincidental — Tybee sits directly in the path of storms tracking up the Georgia and South Carolina coast. The island's single evacuation route (US-80) is a documented vulnerability. Flood insurance, storm shutters, and an understanding of the evacuation zone system are baseline requirements for anyone buying or renting here, not optional considerations.

Government & Municipal Code

Tybee Island's municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com/ga/tybee_island. No local building code is recorded in the municipal code data — the city likely defaults to state and county building standards.

Weather

Current forecasts for Tybee Island are available from the National Weather Service: NWS Forecast. Active weather alerts: NWS Alerts. The nearest observation station is Tybee Island 0.8 SE, approximately 0.2 miles from the island.

The climate is humid subtropical. Summers are hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricane season (June–November) is taken seriously here in a way it is not in inland Georgia.

References

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)