<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">It was another Friday at Latitude Margaritaville, a retirement community in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, and the pool party felt like a freshman-year mingle. Piña coladas sat half-finished under tiki huts. Residents rested belly-first on lounge chairs.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Near them was a movie theater room with a greeting splashed across the screen that may as well have been the slogan for the community’s home, Jasper County: “Welcome to Paradise.”</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">With its proximity to the water, consistently sunny weather and low taxes, Jasper County has seen a crush of newcomers in recent years, many of them retirees who have moved into communities like Latitude Margaritaville, which is building thousands of new homes soon. <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/us/politics/us-census-county-immigration.html" title="">New estimates released</a> by the Census Bureau show that the county’s population has grown to about 38,000 this year from roughly 29,000 in 2020, making it the fastest-growing county in the United States. (Across much of the rest of the country, however, population growth has either slowed or turned negative.)</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Jasper County is about a half-hour drive to Hilton Head Island, the popular tourist spot to its east, and Savannah, Ga., the charming arts hub to its southwest. Charleston, S.C., is just a day’s trip away. Other islands with golf courses are right next door, in Beaufort County, S.C.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="ImageBlock-3"><div data-testid="imageblock-wrapper"><figure aria-label="media" class="img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0" role="group"><div class="css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-figure"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Image</span><picture><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800"/><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200"/><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600"/><img alt="A sign reading “Latitude Margaritaville” can be seen through a thicket of plants and shrubs." class="css-r3fift" decoding="async" height="400" sizes="((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 80vw, 100vw" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 600w,https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/04/04/multimedia/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb/04nat-jasper-census-07-kzmb-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp 2048w" uri="nyt://image/feb0053f-fd6b-5ce3-97cb-5963a4d6dc6c" width="600"/></picture></div><figcaption class="css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-caption"><span class="css-jevhma e13ogyst0">Latitude Margaritaville, a retirement community in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, is building thousands of new homes in the area soon. </span><span class="css-iwa86d e1z0qqy90"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Credit...</span><span><span aria-hidden="false">Sean Rayford for The New York Times</span></span></span></figcaption></figure></div></div><div data-testid="ImageBlock-4"><div data-testid="imageblock-wrapper"><figure aria-label="media" class="img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0" role="group"><div class="css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-figure"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Image</span><div class="css-nwd8t8" data-testid="lazy-image"><div data-testid="lazyimage-container" style="height:257.77777777777777px"></div></div></div><figcaption class="css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-caption"><span class="css-jevhma e13ogyst0">Jasper County, S.C., is awash in wetlands and teeming with wildlife. </span><span class="css-iwa86d e1z0qqy90"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Credit...</span><span><span aria-hidden="false">Sean Rayford for The New York Times</span></span></span></figcaption></figure></div></div><div data-testid="Optimistic-5"><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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