Population 14,457 (est. 2026: ~12,700)
Source: Census ACS 2023 · ACS 2023 + -3.82% annual growth projection
Wilmington Island, Georgia
Chatham County, Georgia · Population 15,129
Wilmington Island sits on a barrier island between Savannah and the Atlantic Ocean, connected to the mainland by causeways and tucked between the Wilmington River and Turner Creek. It is not a city — no mayor, no city hall, no incorporated government. It is a census-designated place, which means it shows up in the data but governs itself through Chatham County. What it offers is suburban quiet within ten miles of downtown Savannah: waterfront neighborhoods, well-maintained homes, and a community that skews older, educated, and financially stable. People who live here are mostly making a deliberate choice — they want proximity to Savannah without living in it.
People & Demographics
Wilmington Island's population of 15,235 is overwhelmingly white (13,616), with smaller Asian (418), Black (299), and Hispanic (216) populations. The community is notably homogeneous compared to Chatham County as a whole, which includes Savannah's far more diverse urban core.
The median age is 43.6 — noticeably older than the state average — which aligns with the island's character as an established residential community rather than a high-turnover rental market. There are 6,250 households, with 4,117 of them family households and an average size of 2.43 people. Children under 18 number 3,181, indicating a solid presence of families even within an aging community overall.
Economy & Employment
The median household income here is $87,441, and per capita income sits at $46,250. Both figures run well above Georgia's state medians, reflecting a professional and managerial residential base that largely commutes into Savannah for work.
Of the 8,027 residents in the labor force, 261 are unemployed — an unemployment rate of roughly 3.2%. The poverty count is 630 people, a low number relative to total population and a sharp contrast to Chatham County's urban poverty concentrations.
Housing
Wilmington Island is a homeowner community. Of 6,724 total housing units, 6,250 are occupied and 474 sit vacant — a 7% vacancy rate typical for a coastal area with some seasonal or second-home inventory. Owner-occupied units number 4,885; renters occupy 1,365.
The median home value is $324,800, which buys considerably more space here than in comparable coastal markets along the Georgia coast. Median rent is $1,561 per month — competitive with Savannah's tighter rental market and reflecting the island's desirability. For buyers, the housing stock here is mostly single-family residential on established lots, and the market has tightened in step with broader coastal Georgia trends.
Schools
Public schools serving Wilmington Island are part of the Chatham County School District. Islands High School (grades 9–12, 862 students) is the nearest high school associated with the island communities. The broader school list includes several large campuses across the district:
- New Hampstead High School — Grades 9–12, 1,436 students
- Rice Creek School — Grades PK–8, 1,167 students
- Godley Station School — Grades PK–8, 1,135 students
- Jenkins High School — Grades 9–12, 1,118 students
- Hesse School — Grades PK–8, 1,022 students
- Windsor Forest High School — Grades 9–12, 1,012 students
- Groves High School — Grades 9–12, 992 students
- West Chatham Middle School — Grades 6–8, 953 students
- Beach High School — Grades 9–12, 914 students
- Savannah Arts Academy — Grades 9–12, 905 students
- West Chatham Elementary School — Grades PK–5, 841 students
- New Hampstead K-8 School — Grades PK–8, 827 students
- Gould Elementary School — Grades PK–5, 818 students
- Johnson High School — Grades 9–12, 790 students
For higher education, Savannah Technical College (912-443-5700) serves the broader region.
The adult educational attainment picture on the island is strong. Of 11,383 residents age 25 and older, 3,507 hold a bachelor's degree, 1,614 a master's, and 239 a doctorate. Only 1,854 hold a high school diploma as their highest credential.
Getting Around
This is a car-dependent community. Of 7,684 workers, 6,263 drove alone to work. Carpooling accounts for 559 commuters. Only 61 used public transit, and 154 walked. Working from home claimed 607 residents.
Total aggregate commute time across all workers is 186,225 minutes, suggesting an average one-way trip of roughly 24 minutes — consistent with the distance to central Savannah and its employment centers.
Healthcare
Multiple hospital systems serve residents from Savannah:
- Candler Hospital — Savannah
- Memorial Health University Medical Center (Savannah Health Services LLC) — Savannah's primary trauma center
- St. Joseph's Hospital – Savannah
- Coastal Harbor Treatment Center — behavioral health
- Georgia Regional Hospital Savannah — state psychiatric facility
For a searchable list of individual healthcare providers with active NPI registrations in Wilmington Island, the CMS NPI Registry provides current records.
Library
The nearest public library branch is the Garden City Library, approximately 2.4 miles away. Phone: 912-644-5932. The branch is part of the Live Oak Public Libraries system serving Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties.
Parks & Recreation
Two National Park Service units are accessible from Wilmington Island:
Fort Pulaski National Monument is the closest NPS site, with a visitor center approximately 12.9 miles away. The fort guarded the Savannah River during the Civil War and represents a significant moment in military engineering history — the first successful use of rifled artillery against masonry fortifications.
Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, with its visitor center about 37.9 miles out in Beaufort County, South Carolina, documents the post-Civil War period of American history.
The island itself has boat ramps, waterfront access, and proximity to the coastal marshes of the Georgia coast.
Natural Hazards
Wilmington Island is coastal Georgia, which means hurricane risk is not hypothetical — it is a recurring, documented reality. Chatham County has received FEMA disaster declarations going back decades:
- Hurricane Helene (2024) — both emergency and major disaster declarations
- Tropical Storm / Hurricane Debby (2024) — two declarations
- COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
- Hurricane Dorian (2019)
- Hurricane Michael (2018)
- Hurricane Irma (2017) — two declarations
- Hurricane Matthew (2016) — two declarations
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (2005)
- Hurricane Floyd (1999)
- Severe Storms and Flooding (1998)
Anyone moving to Wilmington Island should understand that evacuation planning is part of life here, not a remote contingency. The island's causeway access points become chokepoints during mandatory evacuations. Flood insurance is a serious consideration for any property on or near the water.
Government & Municipal Code
Wilmington Island is an unincorporated CDP governed through Chatham County. It does not have an independent municipal government. The municipal code is published through Municode and available at library.municode.com. There is no local building code on record for the CDP.
Weather
Current forecasts and alerts for Wilmington Island's coordinates (32.0606°N, 81.1657°W):
The nearest weather observation station is Savannah 3.3 NNW, approximately 0.7 miles away. The climate is humid subtropical — hot summers with afternoon thunderstorms, mild winters, and a June–November Atlantic hurricane season that demands ongoing situational awareness.
References
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Estimates — Tables B01001, B01002, B02001, B03001, B09001, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25001, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25064, B25077, B08006, B08013
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022
- FEMA Disaster Declarations — Chatham County, Georgia
- CMS Hospital Compare — Hospital records for Chatham County
- CMS NPI Registry — Provider search, Wilmington Island, GA
- National Park Service — Fort Pulaski National Monument; Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
- Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) — Garden City Library
- NOAA / National Weather Service — Forecast point 32.0606, -81.1657
- Municode — Wilmington Island CDP Municipal Code
The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)