Small Towns to Live in South Carolina: Census Figures

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25 South Carolina small towns, from about 2,500 to 20,000 people, with Census population, median age, income, rent and home value, so you can compare the quieter places to live in each region.

Places25in the table
Median Household Income$49,272middle place
Median Rent$840middle place
CheckedOct 262026

The Short Answer

Figures are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2020-2024 (released by the Census Bureau), read from the Census Bureau table-based summary files. Each figure carries its 90 percent margin of error (moe_90pct). source
Towns listed have an ACS 2020-2024 population between 2,500 and 20,000. source

Small Towns to Live in South Carolina: The Figures

Search this list25 of 25

Place	Population	Median household income	Median rent	Median home value	Median age	Source
Port Royal town, Beaufort County	15,579 ±32	$74,870 ±$11,108	$1,726 ±$143	$347,200 ±$41,674	25.1 ±1.7	source
Beaufort city, Beaufort County	13,747 ±26	$61,220 ±$9,318	$1,212 ±$154	$345,400 ±$38,325	32.2 ±3.9	source
Gaffney city, Cherokee County	12,596 ±66	$41,089 ±$3,009	$887 ±$46	$137,700 ±$26,802	31.9 ±2.1	source
Newberry city, Newberry County	10,790 ±80	$51,260 ±$6,611	$831 ±$106	$142,400 ±$42,088	29.3 ±2.5	source
Laurens city, Laurens County	9,336 ±27	$49,246 ±$13,089	$833 ±$57	$180,700 ±$35,710	42.1 ±3.6	source
Seneca city, Oconee County	8,993 ±78	$52,022 ±$8,158	$807 ±$113	$240,000 ±$13,939	39.6 ±5.2	source
York city, York County	8,969 ±35	$56,176 ±$10,268	$896 ±$167	$198,600 ±$38,629	35 ±2.8	source
Georgetown city, Georgetown County	8,565 ±21	$56,981 ±$4,638	$780 ±$180	$168,100 ±$18,719	46.3 ±4.5	source
Travelers Rest city, Greenville County	8,370 ±31	$54,583 ±$15,030	$1,033 ±$180	$284,800 ±$11,073	22 ±1	source
Camden city, Kershaw County	8,267 ±19	$63,576 ±$20,729	$956 ±$150	$265,300 ±$29,048	42.4 ±4.6	source
Union city, Union County	8,079 ±34	$31,914 ±$3,428	$832 ±$118	$109,400 ±$10,172	45.5 ±2.2	source
Bennettsville city, Marlboro County	7,751 ±25	$37,115 ±$9,720	$671 ±$49	$92,100 ±$20,012	41.6 ±3.5	source
Clinton city, Laurens County	7,676 ±28	$44,522 ±$8,045	$899 ±$77	$173,400 ±$13,523	30.6 ±4.3	source
Hartsville city, Darlington County	7,419 ±27	$49,272 ±$3,422	$874 ±$56	$205,600 ±$21,784	35.3 ±4.2	source
Clover town, York County	7,234 ±25	$85,450 ±$12,539	$841 ±$361	$295,700 ±$50,235	37.6 ±2.2	source
Marion city, Marion County	6,206 ±20	$30,662 ±$4,782	$651 ±$74	$137,300 ±$34,021	43.9 ±9.9	source
Darlington city, Darlington County	6,120 ±38	$33,952 ±$9,086	$840 ±$81	$172,300 ±$36,314	45 ±5.3	source
Lake City city, Florence County	5,988 ±20	$33,600 ±$8,895	$702 ±$74	$144,300 ±$15,591	43.7 ±3.6	source
Walterboro city, Colleton County	5,480 ±17	$56,457 ±$10,325	$965 ±$109	$183,500 ±$33,958	35.2 ±5.9	source
Cheraw town, Chesterfield County	4,960 ±18	$26,689 ±$3,652	$800 ±$84	$152,200 ±$64,449	44.6 ±5.2	source
Abbeville city, Abbeville County	4,872 ±35	$40,575 ±$4,116	$587 ±$357	$106,400 ±$30,882	37.1 ±2.4	source
Isle of Palms city, Charleston County	4,362 ±15	$156,979 ±$44,841	$2,893 ±$1,648	$1,581,300 ±$285,401	54.6 ±3.7	source
Walhalla city, Oconee County	4,157 ±16	$36,327 ±$13,562	$669 ±$103	$171,900 ±$39,125	40.9 ±10.4	source
Edgefield town, Edgefield County	4,010 ±19	$39,688 ±$18,075	$731 ±$210	$122,500 ±$33,801	40 ±1.8	source
Pendleton town, Anderson County, Pickens County	3,594 ±20	$61,901 ±$14,102	$1,034 ±$153	$250,500 ±$33,801	40.4 ±8.6	source

Figures exactly as the agency publishes them; ± is the Census margin of error at 90% confidence. Sorting is by the figure, not a judgement.

How to Read The Census Figures

Figures are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2020-2024 (released by the Census Bureau), read from the Census Bureau table-based summary files. Each figure carries its 90 percent margin of error (moe_90pct). source
Small-town ACS estimates carry wide margins of error; check moe_90pct before comparing two towns. source

What We Could Not Confirm

Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.

The Census data API (api.census.gov) returned a "Missing Key" page for every query tried on 2026-10-26, including the example query in the task, so no API URL could be used. The same ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates and MOEs were read from the Census Bureau table-based summary files on www2.census.gov (one pipe-delimited file per table, GEO_ID 1600000US45xxxxx = SC place). Variable names are given in API form (e.g. B25064_001E / B25064_001M); in the summary files the columns are B25064_E001 / B25064_M001.
Folly Beach (ACS population 1,267) and Edisto Beach (1,092) are below 2,500 and were left out, per the 2,500-20,000 range.
Mean travel time is computed (B08013/B08303), no MOE.
Town selection spreads across regions and was chosen by us; no ranking intended.
Region is an editorial grouping by county assigned by us.

Sources

Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “Small Towns to Live in South Carolina”, itssouthcarolina.com/living/small-towns-to-live-in-south-carolina/ (updated 2026-10-26). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.