Hilton Head Island

Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town located on an island of the same name in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 mi northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 mi southwest of Charleston. The island is named after Captain William Hilton, who in 1663, identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which he named "Hilton's Head" after himself. The island features 12 mi of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular vacation destination. In 2004, an estimated 2.25 million visitors pumped more than $1.5 billion into the local economy. The year-round population was 37,099 at the 2010 census, although during the peak of summer vacation season the population can swell to 150,000. Over the past decade, the island's population growth rate was 32%. Hilton Head Island is a primary city within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort metropolitan area.