The 10 Best Cities For Singles In South Carolina For 2026

Are you looking for love in South Carolina?

Or are you just hoping to hook up with a hot South Carolinian?

Either way, we’ve got you covered here.

If you live in South Carolina, there’s a pretty good chance there are a lot of singles in your area. The Palmetto State has plenty of people over 18 who aren’t married or in a serious relationship.

That’s great news for people who are single and looking to mingle.

So, where are the best cities for singles in South Carolina? We used Saturday Night Science to find out.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

So, what was the best city for singles in South Carolina? Clemson ranks as the best place for singles in South Carolina if you care about things singles care about, like nightlife, affordable housing, and other singles.

Read below to see how we crunched the numbers and how each city ranked. If you live in or are close to one of these cities and are single, you should probably get out more often.

Just saying.

For more South Carolina reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Carolina
• Cheapest Places To Live In South Carolina
• Most Dangerous Cities In South Carolina

The 10 Best Cities For Singles In South Carolina For 2026

1. Clemson

Source: Wikipedia User blahedo | CC BY-SA 2.5

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 18,072
Median Age: 24.8
Married households: 8.0%
Households with kids: 14.1%
More on Clemson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Greenville

Source: Wikipedia User JAG from Greenville, SC, USA | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 72,935
Median Age: 34.7
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 20.5%
More on Greenville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. North Charleston

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 119,913
Median Age: 34.6
Married households: 12.0%
Households with kids: 27.2%
More on North Charleston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Columbia

Source: Wikipedia User Akhenaton06 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 139,643
Median Age: 28.6
Married households: 12.0%
Households with kids: 23.3%
More on Columbia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Review Of Columbia by HomeSnacks User

Columbia is an affordable city to live, but as it is the capital of the state, it does lack in tourist aspects. Columbia has a growing art and and music life, but it is a bit disconnected between different areas of the downtown region. Crime happens in all areas of the city.

Riverbanks Zoo is one of the best zoos in the country, so it is our tourism claim to fame. I am also quite proud of our library system.

5. Gaffney

Source: Wikipedia User Bill Fitzpatrick | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,596
Median Age: 31.9
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 25.0%
More on Gaffney: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Hilton Head Island

Source: Wikipedia User MoodyGroove of English Wikipedia | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 37,911
Median Age: 59.8
Married households: 4.0%
Households with kids: 14.4%
More on Hilton Head Island: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

Review Of Hilton Head Island by HomeSnacks User

The place is gorgeous and use to be wonderful. I moved away because the corruption and drugs are unbelievable. The hospital is horrible and tourist are lulled into believing they are safe. SC poverty is horrible and shootings in HHI and Bluffton are common. Theft is extremely high because of drugs.Stay out of Horry, Beaufort and Jasper counties if you visit South Carolina.

Charleston is fun but watch yourself at night. Do not go in the summer, the heat is horrible. The beach on Hilton Head is nice but stay off it at night; a 16 yr old girl was murdered,rapes are common and a 15 yr old shot an 18 yr old at Coligny beach, a woman was just found shot in the Target parking lot.Greenville is a pretty town and has many artists and the crime is lower. Myrtle Beach is fun but very dangerous from drug crime.

7. North Myrtle Beach

Source: Wikipedia User Melikamp | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 19,855
Median Age: 61.9
Married households: 7.0%
Households with kids: 10.6%
More on North Myrtle Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Myrtle Beach

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 38,371
Median Age: 47.3
Married households: 9.0%
Households with kids: 19.9%
More on Myrtle Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Review Of Myrtle Beach by HomeSnacks User

I’ve lived here for 35 years and have steadily watched the place turn into Sodom and Gomorra by the sea. Increased crime, poor education, roads forever in disrepair, more bars than churches.

What stands out- The inability for anyone to enter or leave with even the most minor fender bender on 501 because tourists and locals alike clog up traffic far worse than need be.

9. Goose Creek

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 48,078
Median Age: 34.0
Married households: 15.0%
Households with kids: 31.4%
More on Goose Creek: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Sumter

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 43,053
Median Age: 33.6
Married households: 17.0%
Households with kids: 30.7%
More on Sumter: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Review Of Sumter by HomeSnacks User

Sumter, SC is a wonderful community. There is a homey, southern charm about this city. Known for some great BBQ, Swan Lake-a beautiful park with a well know art show in May, and Shaw AFB. Built around a lowland swamp, you will find beauty in the many lakes and ponds, which are surrounded by Spanish moss covered trees.

Swan Lake is a very pretty place to visit. There is a fabulous art show in May. There are some “depressed” areas outside of town, but the city looks as if they are trying to revamp those older run down areas.

Next 10 Cities

Methodology: How do you determine which city is best for singles in South Carolina anyways?

To give you the places in South Carolina which are best for singles to find one another, we used Saturday Night Science to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city and make some assumptions about what single people like.

So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one to get the best, most complete results possible. Using the 2020-2024 American Community Survey Census data produced for the state of South Carolina, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

• Population density
• % of population that’s male vs. female (closer to a 50-50 ratio is better)
• % of households with kids
• Median age
• Number of unmarried people in each city

We then gave each city a “Singles Score.”

The higher the score, the better the city is for singles to find one another. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For South Carolina, that meant a total of 42 cities.

We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for singles in South Carolina.

Read on to see why Clemson is the talk of the town while Fountain Inn is probably a bit on the bland side.

Summary: The Best Cities for Singles in South Carolina for 2026

If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in South Carolina ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for finding a single person (and potentially love), this is an accurate list.

The best cities for singles in South Carolina are Clemson, Greenville, North Charleston, Columbia, Gaffney, Hilton Head Island, North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Goose Creek, and Sumter.

Here’s a look at the most boring cities in South Carolina according to the data:

1. Fountain Inn
2. James Island
3. Moncks Corner

For more South Carolina reading, check out:

• Best Places To Raise A Family In South Carolina
• Safest Places In South Carolina
• Worst Places To Live In South Carolina

Best Cities For Singles In South Carolina