The headquarters for its associated political body, South Ayrshire Council, is housed at the towns County Buildings located in Wellington Square.

[5] The area's name references its location within the historic county of Ayrshire, which had been abolished for local government purposes in 1975 when Kyle and Carrick district and Strathclyde region had been created.

[6] In 2021, South Ayrshire submitted a bid for city status as part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Celebrations.

The bid was based on the area's rich history and links to royalty, and received backing from organisations and businesses including Ayrshire College and Scottish Enterprise.

[7] The bid was ultimately unsuccessful, with eight other settlements across the UK, overseas territories and crown dependencies being awarded city status, including Scottish town Dunfermline.

With winds mainly blowing from the sea the annual mean temperatures are in the range 9.5 to 9.9 °C (49.1 to 49.8 °F) in coastal areas of South Ayrshire such as Ayr and Troon.

In February the mean daily minimum temperature varies from about 2 °C in most of the islands, 1 to 2 °C along most of the Solway Firth and lowland inland areas, but less than −1 °C in parts of the Southern Uplands and central Highlands.

Local topography also exerts a strong influence and in the winter deep glens and north-facing slopes can be in shade for long periods.

[9] Average annual rainfall totals range from less than 1,000 mm (39 in) in the upper Clyde valley and along the coasts of Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway to on average over 3,500 mm (140 in) over the higher parts of the west Highlands, approaching the maximum values found in the UK (over 4,000 millimetres or 160 inches further north).

The number of children in South Ayrshire is expected to decrease by 17%, with the working age population of the area set to fall by 14% by 2043.

Ayr submitted unsuccessful bids for city status in 2000[13] and 2002,[14] and as part of the wider South Ayrshire area in 2022.

Despite this, total Gross Value Added for South Ayrshire has seen a steady increase over the last 20 years, reaching a peak in 2015 of £2.4 billion.

South Ayrshire's GVA represents 1.9% of the total Scottish Gross Value Added income which is consistent with the previous 20 years.

[19] The largest employment industry in South Ayrshire and Scotland is the public administration, education and health sector.

[27] In 2022, the education sector within South Ayrshire Council employed 1,165 full time equivalent teachers at the 2022 census.

Additionally, South Ayrshire Council runs five out of school care services and two holiday childcare clubs.

Since the last election in 2022, the council has been led by a Conservative minority administration which took office with support from two independent councillors and abstentions from Labour.