Want to know where you can live the South Carolina dream in some of the richest places in the state? You’ve come to the right place.
Yes, HomeSnacks has created a list of the top ten richest places to live in The Palmetto State for 2023 and listed them below. Incidentally, this is our tenth time ranking this southern charm, so believe us when we say that South Carolina’s richest places are the creme de la creme. To identify South Carolina’s richest places we looked at the latest Census data from the American Community Survey for 65 South Carolina cities with 5,000 residents. We then looked at a places median income and their unemployment and poverty rate and assigned each a score.
Now, if you want to live in South Carolina’s richest places, you’re going to have to bring home the bacon. The median income for many in the top ten will require that you have a solid job and the highest paying jobs in South Carolina are in healthcare and engineering. But don’t worry, finding a job in one of the top ten richest places shouldn’t be difficult because the unemployment rate in many of these places is below the national average.
So, want to know where South Carolina’s ‘one percenters’ live? HomeSnacks suggests that you read on.
Here are the 10 richest places in South Carolina for 2023:
Many of South Carolina’s richest places are also the state’s safest. Heck, South Carolina notables like Jesse Jackson and Vanna White have been singing the praises of places like Greenville and Myrtle Beach for years. But, there can only be one one number one richest place in The Palmetto State.
So, what’s the richest place in South Carolina for 2023? According to the data, that would be Tega Cay.
To see a list of where the rest of South Carolina’s royalty live, take a look below.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about South Carolina:
The 10 Richest Cities In South Carolina For 2023
1. Tega Cay
/10
Population: 12,336
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 4)
Median Income: $130,571
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 0.5%
More on Tega Cay: Real Estate | Photos
2. James Island
/10
Population: 11,618
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 2)
Median Income: $87,615
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on James Island: Real Estate | Photos
3. Fort Mill
/10
Population: 24,069
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $120,665
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on Fort Mill: Real Estate | Photos
4. Bluffton
/10
Population: 27,596
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 2)
Median Income: $89,245
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on Bluffton: Real Estate | Photos
5. Mount Pleasant
/10
Population: 88,900
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 4)
Median Income: $106,216
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on Mount Pleasant: Real Estate | Photos
6. Hilton Head Island
/10
Population: 38,068
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $87,884
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.6%
More on Hilton Head Island: Real Estate | Photos
7. Simpsonville
/10
Population: 23,190
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $76,412
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on Simpsonville: Real Estate | Photos
8. Port Royal
/10
Population: 12,734
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)
Median Income: $63,645
Unemployment Rate: 1.7%
Poverty Rate: 5.5%
More on Port Royal: Real Estate | Photos
9. Lyman
/10
Population: 5,841
Rank Last Year: –
Median Income: $78,906
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.9%
More on Lyman: Real Estate
10. Moncks Corner
/10
Population: 12,685
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 6)
Median Income: $69,484
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 10.1%
More on Moncks Corner: Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In South Carolina For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 65 places with more than 5,000 people in South Carolina, we ranked each place from 1 to 65 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Tega Cay, crowned the “Richest City In South Carolina For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 65 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In South Carolina For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in South Carolina, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in South Carolina.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in South Carolina, according to data:
Poorest: Cheraw
2nd Poorest: Lancaster
3rd Poorest: Orangeburg
For more South Carolina reading, check out:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In South Carolina
- Cheapest Places To Live In South Carolina
- Best Places To Live In South Carolina
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In South Carolina
Rank | City | RichScore |
---|---|---|
1 | Tega Cay | 2.33 |
2 | James Island | 3.33 |
3 | Fort Mill | 4.0 |
4 | Bluffton | 4.33 |
5 | Mount Pleasant | 7.33 |
6 | Hilton Head Island | 8.33 |
7 | Simpsonville | 9.67 |
8 | Port Royal | 10.33 |
9 | Lyman | 12.0 |
10 | Moncks Corner | 13.67 |
11 | Lexington | 13.67 |
12 | Goose Creek | 14.0 |
13 | Hanahan | 14.33 |
14 | Charleston | 15.33 |
15 | North Augusta | 16.67 |
16 | Forest Acres | 17.0 |
17 | Mauldin | 18.33 |
18 | Greer | 20.0 |
19 | Hollywood | 20.67 |
20 | Irmo | 20.67 |
21 | Greenville | 23.0 |
22 | Easley | 24.67 |
23 | Hardeeville | 26.33 |
24 | Summerville | 27.0 |
25 | North Myrtle Beach | 27.0 |
26 | West Columbia | 27.0 |
27 | Aiken | 28.67 |
28 | Beaufort | 30.0 |
29 | Fountain Inn | 30.67 |
30 | North Charleston | 30.67 |
31 | Rock Hill | 31.33 |
32 | Florence | 31.67 |
33 | Cayce | 33.0 |
34 | Walterboro | 33.33 |
35 | Batesburg-Leesville | 35.0 |
36 | Laurens | 36.0 |
37 | Camden | 36.0 |
38 | Myrtle Beach | 38.0 |
39 | Clover | 38.33 |
40 | Seneca | 40.67 |
41 | Lake City | 42.33 |
42 | Clemson | 42.67 |
43 | Travelers Rest | 43.0 |
44 | Columbia | 43.0 |
45 | Spartanburg | 43.0 |
46 | Dillon | 43.67 |
47 | Conway | 45.0 |
48 | Newberry | 45.67 |
49 | Anderson | 46.33 |
50 | Sumter | 46.67 |
51 | York | 47.0 |
52 | Greenwood | 49.67 |
53 | Georgetown | 50.67 |
54 | Central | 50.67 |
55 | Bennettsville | 51.0 |
56 | Hartsville | 51.0 |
57 | Clinton | 55.0 |
58 | Gaffney | 55.67 |
59 | Darlington | 56.67 |
60 | Chester | 57.0 |
61 | Marion | 58.33 |
62 | Union | 59.67 |
63 | Orangeburg | 61.67 |
64 | Lancaster | 62.67 |
65 | Cheraw | 62.67 |