There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in South Carolina that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.
Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in Palmetto State are so lucky.
Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within South Carolina’s’ borders. You know the places where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.
Like James Island, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of South Carolina according to Saturday Night Science. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of James Island. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in South Carolina as well.
Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement.
41.7 median age · 24.0% married households · #17 oldest in South Carolina
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
42.1 median age · 27.0% married households · #16 oldest in South Carolina
Located in
Laurens County, South Carolina
Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
42.4 median age · 24.0% married households · #14 oldest in South Carolina
Located in
Kershaw County, South Carolina
Camden is a city in Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. It is the largest city and county seat of Kershaw County. The population was 7,126 in the 2016 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
35.2 median age · 25.0% married households · #44 oldest in South Carolina
Walterboro is a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,398 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Colleton County. Walterboro is located 48 miles west of Charleston and is located near the ACE Basin region in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
46.1 median age · 13.0% married households · #8 oldest in South Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
53.0 median age · 15.0% married households · #4 oldest in South Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
42.7 median age · 5.0% married households · #12 oldest in South Carolina
Located in
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Bluffton is a Lowcountry town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is primarily located around U.S. Route 278, between Hilton Head Island and Interstate 95. The town’s original one square mile area, now known as Old Town, is situated on a bluff along the May River. The population was counted by the 2010 census at 12,893. Bluffton is the fastest growing municipality in South Carolina with a population over 2,500, growing 882.7% between the 2000 and 2010 census. Bluffton is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina by land area. The town is a primary city within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bluffton is known for its eclectic Old Town district and natural views of the May River. It has been called “the last true coastal village of the South.”
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
45.5 median age · 19.0% married households · #9 oldest in South Carolina
Located in
Union County, South Carolina
The city of Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area, an which includes all of Union County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.6 median age · 18.0% married households · #25 oldest in South Carolina
Located in
Oconee County, South Carolina
Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,102 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area, an which includes all of Oconee County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
40.4 median age · 30.0% married households · #22 oldest in South Carolina
Located in
Dillon County, South Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is South Carolina’s statewide median.
On the map
Where the quiet settles in South Carolina
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the boring cities in the Palmetto State
You would present the following case to your friends if you were argueing with them at a bar about the most boring place to live in South Carolina. And that’s why we call it Saturday Night Science.
Because our data speaks more truth than feelings.
To figure out how boring a place is, we factored in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people.
We used the U.S. American Community Census data to gather the information presented here. Some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring include:
- % of Population Over 25 (higher is more boring)
- % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
- Average Age (higher is more boring)
- % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
- Population density (lower is more boring)
Then, our algorithm generates a ranking for each place in these categories. After crunching the numbers, all of the cities ranked from most boring to most exciting.
For this ranking, we used every South Carolina city with at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.
Grab your rocker and hold on.
We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the most boring cities in South Carolina.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Most Boring Cities In South Carolina For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Boring Score | Population | Average Age | % Married | % Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Island | 15.12 | 12,198 | 41.7 | 24.0% | 30.2% |
| 2 | Laurens | 17.80 | 9,336 | 42.1 | 27.0% | 27.2% |
| 3 | Camden | 18.30 | 8,267 | 42.4 | 24.0% | 26.0% |
| 4 | Walterboro | 19.70 | 5,480 | 35.2 | 25.0% | 42.6% |
| 5 | Blythewood | 19.70 | 5,731 | 46.1 | 13.0% | 30.0% |
| 6 | Hollywood | 20.90 | 5,382 | 53.0 | 15.0% | 17.2% |
| 7 | Bluffton | 22.00 | 33,157 | 42.7 | 5.0% | 32.6% |
| 8 | Union | 22.10 | 8,079 | 45.5 | 19.0% | 24.3% |
| 9 | Seneca | 22.20 | 8,993 | 39.6 | 18.0% | 27.5% |
| 10 | Dillon | 22.40 | 6,354 | 40.4 | 30.0% | 30.9% |
| 11 | Georgetown | 22.60 | 8,565 | 46.3 | 32.0% | 20.4% |
| 12 | Lyman | 23.90 | 6,547 | 32.6 | 30.0% | 33.4% |
| 13 | Fountain Inn | 24.30 | 12,020 | 35.2 | 22.0% | 41.8% |
| 14 | Hardeeville | 25.80 | 10,871 | 61.4 | 4.0% | 10.1% |
| 15 | Easley | 26.00 | 24,841 | 39.2 | 25.0% | 25.9% |
| 16 | Irmo | 26.10 | 11,813 | 40.3 | 21.0% | 31.6% |
| 17 | North Myrtle Beach | 26.60 | 19,855 | 61.9 | 7.0% | 10.6% |
| 18 | Darlington | 26.80 | 6,120 | 45.0 | 23.0% | 23.8% |
| 19 | North Augusta | 26.90 | 25,653 | 42.3 | 9.0% | 26.8% |
| 20 | Bennettsville | 27.50 | 7,751 | 41.6 | 19.0% | 22.9% |
| 21 | Moncks Corner | 27.50 | 15,485 | 35.4 | 21.0% | 39.7% |
| 22 | Lexington | 27.50 | 24,585 | 39.0 | 19.0% | 37.7% |
| 23 | Mount Pleasant | 27.50 | 93,993 | 42.6 | 12.0% | 30.5% |
| 24 | Fort Mill | 28.20 | 30,775 | 38.4 | 7.0% | 46.2% |
| 25 | York | 28.30 | 8,969 | 35.0 | 16.0% | 45.1% |
| 26 | Mauldin | 28.50 | 27,055 | 40.9 | 17.0% | 30.5% |
| 27 | Hilton Head Island | 28.80 | 37,911 | 59.8 | 4.0% | 14.4% |
| 28 | Cayce | 29.50 | 13,741 | 37.7 | 19.0% | 20.6% |
| 29 | Myrtle Beach | 29.50 | 38,371 | 47.3 | 9.0% | 19.9% |
| 30 | Lancaster | 30.00 | 8,921 | 40.4 | 14.0% | 27.8% |
| 31 | Marion | 31.10 | 6,206 | 43.9 | 12.0% | 23.5% |
| 32 | Hanahan | 31.20 | 21,452 | 36.6 | 16.0% | 36.9% |
| 33 | Florence | 31.60 | 40,408 | 37.8 | 22.0% | 30.1% |
| 34 | Greer | 31.60 | 41,536 | 36.0 | 14.0% | 36.9% |
| 35 | Forest Acres | 31.80 | 10,530 | 41.5 | 22.0% | 24.4% |
| 36 | Simpsonville | 31.80 | 26,144 | 37.1 | 20.0% | 33.0% |
| 37 | Aiken | 31.90 | 32,521 | 46.6 | 11.0% | 20.8% |
| 38 | Chester | 32.00 | 5,218 | 38.8 | 25.0% | 26.4% |
| 39 | Tega Cay | 33.60 | 13,615 | 41.0 | 3.0% | 44.4% |
| 40 | Summerville | 33.70 | 51,654 | 38.9 | 16.0% | 31.5% |
| 41 | Goose Creek | 33.90 | 48,078 | 34.0 | 15.0% | 31.4% |
| 42 | Clover | 35.00 | 7,234 | 37.6 | 7.0% | 42.4% |
| 43 | Newberry | 36.10 | 10,790 | 29.3 | 17.0% | 37.5% |
| 44 | Sumter | 36.10 | 43,053 | 33.6 | 17.0% | 30.7% |
| 45 | Charleston | 36.20 | 154,338 | 36.6 | 13.0% | 21.1% |
| 46 | Clinton | 36.30 | 7,676 | 30.6 | 15.0% | 32.4% |
| 47 | Spartanburg | 37.10 | 38,910 | 36.0 | 18.0% | 29.3% |
| 48 | Hartsville | 37.30 | 7,419 | 35.3 | 15.0% | 31.9% |
| 49 | West Columbia | 37.80 | 17,963 | 38.6 | 18.0% | 19.9% |
| 50 | Rock Hill | 39.70 | 75,259 | 35.7 | 15.0% | 29.0% |
| 51 | North Charleston | 39.90 | 119,913 | 34.6 | 12.0% | 27.2% |
| 52 | Beaufort | 40.50 | 13,747 | 32.2 | 11.0% | 23.4% |
| 53 | Conway | 40.70 | 27,263 | 32.5 | 10.0% | 27.7% |
| 54 | Orangeburg | 41.30 | 13,253 | 36.4 | 17.0% | 25.2% |
| 55 | Greenwood | 41.90 | 22,536 | 34.3 | 15.0% | 27.5% |
| 56 | Travelers Rest | 42.10 | 8,370 | 22.0 | 10.0% | 33.7% |
| 57 | Anderson | 43.70 | 30,051 | 32.7 | 16.0% | 26.2% |
| 58 | Greenville | 44.10 | 72,935 | 34.7 | 15.0% | 20.5% |
| 59 | Gaffney | 45.50 | 12,596 | 31.9 | 15.0% | 25.0% |
| 60 | Port Royal | 46.00 | 15,579 | 25.1 | 4.0% | 25.7% |
| 61 | Columbia | 46.10 | 139,643 | 28.6 | 12.0% | 23.3% |
| 62 | Central | 48.90 | 5,320 | 24.0 | 8.0% | 35.8% |
| 63 | Clemson | 57.90 | 18,072 | 24.8 | 8.0% | 14.1% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 63 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
On a ranking like this, there are usually no winners, but since South Carolina isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this ranking can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.
The most boring cities in South Carolina are James Island, Laurens, Camden, Walterboro, Blythewood, Hollywood, Bluffton, Union, Seneca, and Dillon.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most exciting places in South Carolina, according to science.
