Tybee is small enough that people argue about whether it has neighborhoods at all. It covers 2.881 square miles of land (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), which means you can drive its length in a few minutes. The areas are real anyway, because what the island is built on, what the city is spending money on, and what the water does differ noticeably from one end to the other.
Key Takeaways
– Tybee has 3,227 housing units but only 1,464 are occupied by a household.
– The North End sits inside a National Register historic district that takes in Fort Screven and the lighthouse.
– Current city spending is concentrated on the South End, for drainage and sewers.
– Paid parking is enforced islandwide, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., all year, at $4.00 an hour.
What does the island look like as a whole?
Mostly homes that are not lived in full time. There are 3,227 housing units, of which 1,296 are owner-occupied and 168 renter-occupied, a total of 1,464 occupied by a household (American Community Survey 2020-2024). The resident population is 3,123 (American Community Survey).
That single ratio explains most of what feels different about buying here. More than half the housing stock is not somebody’s year-round home, which shapes how streets feel in February and how much comes to market in a given season.
The typical home dates from 1984 and the median owner-occupied value is $611,200. As everywhere, treat the median as orientation: a 1970s cottage three streets back and a rebuilt oceanfront house are both inside it.
The North End
This is the historic end, and the designation is federal. The National Register nomination describes it plainly: “The Fort Screven Historic District consists of Fort Screven and Tybee Light. Tybee Light is a late-nineteenth-century lighthouse facility occupying a square of ground within the fort area … Fort Screven, which surrounds Tybee Light at the northern end of Tybee Island, is a turn-of-the-century federal coastal defense military installation. The fort consists of six massive concrete gun emplacements or batteries” (National Park Service, National Register nomination).
The housing stock up here is genuinely unusual. The same nomination records that the fort’s support buildings were converted: “All of the one-story, concrete-block support buildings associated with this training area, including officers’ and enlisted men’s mess halls, administrative offices, and latrines, remain and have been remodeled as permanent or weekend residences.” Buying a converted military building is a different inspection from buying a beach cottage.
Two caveats. That nomination is a historic record, not a current condition report, so confirm anything specific about a building today. And the city’s current budget commits “$1 million to restore severely eroded dunes along the Savannah River Shipping Channel, which serve as critical storm protection for a number of private properties” (City of Tybee Island FY2027 Budget). The shipping channel runs past this end of the island, and erosion there is a funded concern rather than a theoretical one.
Mid-island
The middle of the island is the part with the least to say about it in official documents, which is itself informative. It has no separate historic overlay and no single funded project defining it right now. What you are buying mid-island is proximity: a shorter walk to the beach from most streets than the far ends, and a position between the two areas where the city is actively working.
Because the island is under three square miles, “mid-island” is a few minutes from everywhere. Judge a mid-island house on its lot, its elevation and its street rather than on the label.
The South End
This is where the city’s money is going, and the reason is water. The FY2027 budget commits “$2.8 million, primarily funded through a federal grant, to upsize stormwater infrastructure beneath 15th Street with the target to begin relieving flooding on the South End.”
Read the phrasing carefully. The stated target is to “begin relieving” flooding, which tells you two things: the flooding is real and acknowledged, and one project is not expected to end it. If you are looking south, treat flood history, elevation and whether an elevation certificate exists as the first questions rather than the last.
Sewers are the other South End project. The budget funds “$3.1 million in critical infrastructure improvements to correct flaws in our sanitary sewer system that led to three large sewer spills in the summer of 2026,” including “new sewer lines on Miller Avenue and throughout the South End.”
The South End is also where the pier, the pavilion and most of the commercial activity sit, which is a benefit or a drawback depending on what you want from a street in July.
The Back River
The Back River side faces the channel between Tybee and Little Tybee rather than the open Atlantic. The practical differences are water access and exposure rather than anything a document defines: it is the side people choose for boats and sunsets rather than surf.
There is no separate regulatory overlay here, so the rules that matter are the islandwide ones: the flood picture for the specific address, and the short-term rental position if income is part of your plan.
What applies everywhere on the island
Three things, regardless of which end you buy on.
Parking is a real cost. The city enforces “payment for parking … citywide, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., year-round, including weekends & holidays,” at “$4.00/hour” (City of Tybee Island). Residents buy passes instead: an “Annual Parking Pass: $304.00 each,” a “Transferrable Parking Pass: $404.00 each,” or a “Senior Discounted Pass: $179.00 each,” each valid “for one year from the date of purchase.” A virtual permit “entitles you to park in any legal space on the island without paying the parking fees.” Budget for it, and for guests who will not have one.
The flood rating is strong. FEMA lists Tybee as Class 5 in the Community Rating System, worth a 25 percent discount on National Flood Insurance Program premiums (FEMA, CRS eligible communities, effective April 1, 2026). That applies islandwide; your own premium still depends on your elevation.
Rental rules are changing. The city states that “As of August 2026, the City of Tybee Island has revised its ordinances governing short-term vacation rentals and will implement a new permitting process for such properties in 2027” (City of Tybee Island). That applies to every address on this page.
Our Tybee Island buying guide goes deeper on the purchase itself, the Tybee Island community page has the market view, and the Savannah with kids guide covers days out on this side of the county.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes on Tybee are lived in year-round?
Fewer than half. The Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates record 3,227 housing units on the island against 1,464 occupied by a household, split 1,296 owner-occupied and 168 renter-occupied. The resident population is 3,123. That ratio is the main structural difference between Tybee and a mainland market.
What is special about the North End?
It sits inside the Fort Screven Historic District, listed on the National Register, which takes in both the fort and Tybee Light. The nomination describes six concrete gun batteries and records that support buildings from a training area were remodelled into permanent or weekend residences, so the housing stock there includes converted military buildings.
Do residents pay for parking on Tybee?
Payment is enforced citywide from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. year round, including weekends and holidays, at $4.00 an hour. Residents generally buy a pass instead: $304 annual, $404 transferrable, or $179 with the senior discount, each valid one year from purchase. A virtual permit covers any legal space on the island.
Which part of Tybee floods?
The city’s own budget targets the South End, committing $2.8 million, primarily federal grant money, to upsize stormwater infrastructure beneath 15th Street with the stated target to begin relieving flooding there. Flood exposure is still an address-level question everywhere on the island, and the elevation certificate is what determines the insurance quote.
Choosing an end of the island
The useful question is not which end is best. It is which set of trade-offs you want: a historic district with unusual housing stock at the north, funded water and sewer work with the busiest streets at the south, or the quieter middle and Back River side in between.
Whichever end you pick, the checks are the same three per address: the flood position, the elevation certificate, and the current rental rules. To go through those for a specific Tybee address, get in touch.