Everyone wants a bit of a blissful breeze or a scoop of sunny sanctuary when looking for a place to live in South Carolina.
The more sun, the more you can go outside. The more you go outside, the more you’ll feel at peace. The more you’ll feel at peace, the more you’ll enjoy where you live.
So it makes sense to try and find the places with the best weather in South Carolina. We used Saturday Night Science to compare the number of sunny days, total precipitation, and the deviation from the ideal 70-degree weather for 52 places in South Carolina over 10,000 people.
Grab your shades and put away your raincoat as we look at the cities with the best weather in South Carolina.
293.8 sunny days · 74.4 degree average high
Located in
Charleston County, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is the fourth largest municipality and largest town in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state’s fastest-growing areas, doubling in population between 1990 and 2000. The population was 67,843 at the 2010 census, and the estimated population in 2014 was 77,796. Mount Pleasant is the third largest city in the Charleston- North Charleston- Summerville metropolitan area, behind Charleston and North Charleston.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
292.6 sunny days · 74.8 degree average high
Located in
Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston is the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina’s coastline and is located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers. Charleston had an estimated population of 134,385 in 2016. The estimated population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, was 761,155 residents in 2016, the third-largest in the state and the 78th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.
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292.9 sunny days · 75.0 degree average high
Located in
Charleston County, South Carolina
James Island is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is located in the central and southern parts of James Island. As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and used by the U.S. Census Bureau for statistical purposes only, James Island is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area and the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
297.5 sunny days · 74.6 degree average high
Located in
Richland County, South Carolina
Irmo is a town in Lexington and Richland counties, South Carolina, United States and a suburb of Columbia. It is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 12 miles northwest of the city center. The population of Irmo was 11,097 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
302.7 sunny days · 72.6 degree average high
Located in
Horry County, South Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
294.1 sunny days · 75.7 degree average high
Located in
Orangeburg County, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as The Garden City, is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States census. The city is located 37 miles southeast of Columbia, on the north fork of the Edisto River in the Piedmont area.
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297.1 sunny days · 75.1 degree average high
Located in
Edgefield County, South Carolina
North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area and is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
292.3 sunny days · 74.8 degree average high
295.4 sunny days · 74.3 degree average high
Located in
Lexington County, South Carolina
Lexington is the largest town in and the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. Lexington is a suburb of the state’s capital and second-largest city, Columbia. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 2016 population is 24,905, and it is the second-largest municipality in the Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
295.4 sunny days · 75.2 degree average high
St. Andrews is a census-designated place in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 20,493 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is South Carolina’s statewide median.
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Where South Carolina’s best weather is
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Cities In South Carolina With The Best Weather
To rank the most fair weather cities in South Carolina, we used Saturday Night Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) database, to see which cities in the Palmetto State get the best weather.
We used the following criteria to find the best weather:
- Number of sunny days
- Highest average low
- Average high deviation from 70 degrees
- Least amount of rain
- Least amount of snow
We ranked each city of over 10,000 people in South Carolina from best to worst on each criterion. We then averaged each ranking into a weather quality index. The city with the best index, Mount Pleasant, was anointed the city with the best weather in South Carolina.
Before we get too far, here are the annual precipitation rates for major cities: Columbia (44.6 inches), Charleston (47.4 inches), and North Charleston (50.2 inches).
The cities with the best weather in South Carolina are Mount Pleasant, Charleston, James Island, Irmo, North Myrtle Beach, Orangeburg, North Augusta, Dentsville, Lexington, and St. Andrews.
There’s a complete chart at the bottom.
The full plate
Detailed List Of Places With The Best Weather In South Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Sunny Days | Avg. High | Precipitation (Inches) | Snow (Inches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Pleasant | 74,952 | 293.8 | 74.4 | 47.4 | 0.2 |
| 2 | Charleston | 127,694 | 292.6 | 74.8 | 47.4 | 0.3 |
| 3 | James Island | 11,544 | 292.9 | 75.0 | 48.4 | 0.3 |
| 4 | Irmo | 11,704 | 297.5 | 74.6 | 44.8 | 0.9 |
| 5 | North Myrtle Beach | 14,824 | 302.7 | 72.6 | 48.6 | 1.2 |
| 6 | Orangeburg | 13,685 | 294.1 | 75.7 | 47.5 | 0.2 |
| 7 | North Augusta | 22,037 | 297.1 | 75.1 | 45.6 | 0.8 |
| 8 | Dentsville | 14,151 | 292.3 | 74.8 | 44.9 | 0.5 |
| 9 | Lexington | 19,447 | 295.4 | 74.3 | 45.1 | 1.0 |
| 10 | St. Andrews | 21,779 | 295.4 | 75.2 | 44.8 | 1.0 |
| 11 | Cayce | 13,554 | 294.1 | 75.5 | 44.7 | 1.0 |
| 12 | Port Royal | 11,513 | 292.9 | 76.1 | 48.7 | 0.2 |
| 13 | Forest Acres | 10,545 | 292.3 | 75.4 | 44.5 | 0.7 |
| 14 | Hanahan | 19,707 | 299.8 | 75.7 | 50.4 | 0.5 |
| 15 | Lake Wylie | 10,738 | 293.8 | 71.5 | 43.6 | 1.5 |
| 16 | West Columbia | 15,757 | 295.4 | 75.2 | 44.9 | 1.1 |
| 17 | Columbia | 131,958 | 291.5 | 75.0 | 44.6 | 0.6 |
| 18 | Oak Grove | 10,183 | 295.4 | 75.1 | 44.9 | 1.2 |
| 19 | Hilton Head Island | 39,071 | 292.9 | 75.5 | 51.3 | 0.2 |
| 20 | Beaufort | 12,839 | 291.9 | 76.5 | 47.6 | 0.2 |
| 21 | Fort Mill | 12,525 | 295.4 | 72.0 | 44.3 | 2.1 |
| 22 | Greenwood | 23,254 | 293.5 | 73.5 | 44.5 | 1.0 |
| 23 | Florence | 38,000 | 292.9 | 74.6 | 45.5 | 1.0 |
| 24 | Rock Hill | 69,196 | 294.7 | 71.8 | 43.8 | 3.3 |
| 25 | North Charleston | 104,146 | 293.7 | 75.8 | 50.2 | 0.5 |
| 26 | Seven Oaks | 16,185 | 292.0 | 75.0 | 44.8 | 1.0 |
| 27 | Sumter | 40,851 | 290.1 | 75.1 | 46.1 | 0.6 |
| 28 | Goose Creek | 39,408 | 291.8 | 75.9 | 49.8 | 0.4 |
| 29 | Anderson | 26,978 | 292.1 | 72.7 | 46.5 | 1.4 |
| 30 | Easley | 20,374 | 297.8 | 71.5 | 51.6 | 1.2 |
| 31 | Bluffton | 14,607 | 290.7 | 76.7 | 49.7 | 0.2 |
| 32 | Myrtle Beach | 29,198 | 289.4 | 73.0 | 49.7 | 1.0 |
| 33 | Greer | 27,186 | 293.5 | 71.3 | 48.7 | 4.2 |
| 34 | Socastee | 21,641 | 285.6 | 73.6 | 51.8 | 0.6 |
| 35 | Conway | 19,356 | 292.0 | 74.9 | 52.0 | 0.8 |
| 36 | Summerville | 46,200 | 292.1 | 76.0 | 50.0 | 0.7 |
| 37 | Aiken | 30,183 | 288.5 | 75.9 | 45.7 | 0.6 |
| 38 | Ladson | 14,770 | 290.9 | 76.0 | 49.9 | 0.6 |
| 39 | Newberry | 10,279 | 288.3 | 74.1 | 46.3 | 1.0 |
| 40 | Gaffney | 12,562 | 291.1 | 71.5 | 47.7 | 1.8 |
| 41 | Red Hill | 14,357 | 289.7 | 74.9 | 52.1 | 0.8 |
| 42 | Spartanburg | 37,465 | 291.7 | 72.0 | 48.7 | 1.7 |
| 43 | Greenville | 61,734 | 290.0 | 71.1 | 50.0 | 2.7 |
| 44 | Gantt | 14,693 | 291.1 | 71.6 | 48.9 | 2.6 |
| 45 | Wade Hampton | 20,205 | 284.0 | 71.2 | 48.8 | 3.3 |
| 46 | Simpsonville | 19,706 | 291.1 | 72.1 | 48.0 | 2.9 |
| 47 | Mauldin | 24,396 | 282.3 | 71.4 | 48.5 | 3.1 |
| 48 | Taylors | 22,475 | 291.1 | 71.3 | 50.4 | 3.6 |
| 49 | Parker | 12,571 | 284.0 | 71.2 | 49.9 | 2.3 |
| 50 | Clemson | 14,664 | 287.0 | 72.5 | 49.7 | 2.2 |
| 51 | Five Forks | 16,398 | 286.8 | 71.8 | 47.9 | 3.5 |
| 52 | Berea | 14,091 | 284.2 | 71.2 | 51.5 | 2.1 |
Source: NOAA climate data. 52 South Carolina cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Cities With The Best Weather In South Carolina For 2026
If you’re looking for the South Carolina cities with the most sunny days, the least rain and snow, and highs closest to a perfect 70 degrees, this is an accurate list.
The cities with the best weather in South Carolina are Mount Pleasant, Charleston, James Island, Irmo, North Myrtle Beach, Orangeburg, North Augusta, Dentsville, Lexington, and St. Andrews.
