The 10 Best Places To Buy A House In South Carolina For 2024


The best places to buy a house in South Carolina are Lyman and Hollywood for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Editor’s Note: This is not investment advice, and we are not financial advisers.

Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in South Carolina with best potential return on investment.

After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.

To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in South Carolina that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.

In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in South Carolina at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Lyman.


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


The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In South Carolina For 2024

  1. Lyman
  2. Hollywood
  3. Central
  4. Chester
  5. Walterboro
  6. Batesburg-Leesville
  7. Cheraw
  8. Darlington
  9. Dillon
  10. Clover

Best Places To Buy A House In South Carolina Map

The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.

For more South Carolina reading:

The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In South Carolina For 2024

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 6,099
Median Home Price: $289,160
Population Change: 4.4%
Home Price Change: 1.7%
More on Lyman: Data | Crime | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,397
Median Home Price: $467,948
Population Change: 1.5%
Home Price Change: 3.0%
More on Hollywood: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Central, SC

Source: Flickr User ~ wryonedwards ~ | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,272
Median Home Price: $247,449
Population Change: 0.8%
Home Price Change: 5.1%
More on Central: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Chester, SC

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,260
Median Home Price: $142,891
Population Change: -0.4%
Home Price Change: 0.5%
More on Chester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Walterboro, SC

Source: Wikipedia User BeaufortTiger | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,515
Median Home Price: $181,873
Population Change: 0.0%
Home Price Change: 1.7%
More on Walterboro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Batesburg-Leesville, SC

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

4
/10

Population: 5,004
Median Home Price: $137,614
Population Change: -6.0%
Home Price Change: -0.3%
More on Batesburg-Leesville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cheraw, SC

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 5,056
Median Home Price: $146,907
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: -3.5%
More on Cheraw: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Darlington, SC

Source: Flickr User Roadgeek Adam | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 6,172
Median Home Price: $123,699
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: 0.8%
More on Darlington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Dillon, SC

Source: Wikipedia User Gerry Dincher | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,454
Median Home Price: $82,630
Population Change: 1.6%
Home Price Change: -12.2%
More on Dillon: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Clover, SC

Source: Flickr User jonesy54 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 6,800
Median Home Price: $392,293
Population Change: 3.6%
Home Price Change: 1.5%
More on Clover: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in South Carolina for 2024?

We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 9. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.

So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in South Carolina. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in South Carolina with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.

To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2018-2022 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:

  • Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
  • Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
  • Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)

We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for South Carolina with the following caveats:

So of the 0 cities and towns in South Carolina, only 65 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.

We then ranked each place from 1 to 65 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.

Turns out that Lyman is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Palmetto State.

Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In South Carolina for 2024

There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in South Carolina. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.

In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.

The best cities to buy a house in South Carolina are Lyman, Hollywood, Central, Chester, Walterboro, Batesburg-Leesville, Cheraw, Darlington, Dillon, and Clover.

So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.

For more South Carolina reading, check out:

Best Places To Buy A Home In South Carolina

Rank City Population Median Home Price Population Change Home Price Increase
1 Lyman 6,099 $289,160 4.4% 1.7%
2 Hollywood 5,397 $467,948 1.5% 3.0%
3 Central 5,272 $247,449 0.8% 5.1%
4 Chester 5,260 $142,891 -0.4% 0.5%
5 Walterboro 5,515 $181,873 0.0% 1.7%
6 Batesburg-Leesville 5,004 $137,614 -6.0% -0.3%
7 Cheraw 5,056 $146,907 -0.7% -3.5%
8 Darlington 6,172 $123,699 0.3% 0.8%
9 Dillon 6,454 $82,630 1.6% -12.2%
10 Clover 6,800 $392,293 3.6% 1.5%
11 Lake City 6,080 $113,134 0.9% -1.7%
12 Marion 6,402 $90,130 -1.1% -3.0%
13 Hardeeville 8,048 $408,943 11.3% 15.6%
14 Camden 7,834 $211,324 2.2% 2.6%
15 Hartsville 7,450 $156,598 -1.5% 0.7%
16 Union 8,099 $108,743 -0.2% -7.8%
17 Bennettsville 6,975 $84,777 -4.5% -14.5%
18 Travelers Rest 7,929 $299,948 3.4% 2.3%
19 York 8,534 $333,788 1.3% 2.6%
20 Clinton 7,624 $126,502 -1.7% -9.1%
21 Seneca 8,834 $275,023 1.1% 2.8%
22 Laurens 9,276 $147,919 0.3% -6.4%
23 Georgetown 8,465 $244,215 0.4% 2.3%
24 Lancaster 8,592 $262,150 1.2% -1.6%
25 Fountain Inn 10,675 $280,678 4.3% 0.8%
26 Newberry 10,682 $163,742 1.8% -10.2%
27 Forest Acres 10,514 $291,080 -1.0% 4.8%
28 Tega Cay 12,816 $565,388 3.9% 3.4%
29 Moncks Corner 13,456 $354,593 6.1% -0.1%
30 James Island 11,689 $552,752 0.6% 0.8%
31 Irmo 11,685 $271,045 0.9% 3.5%
32 Orangeburg 13,220 $142,887 3.5% -0.1%
33 Gaffney 12,651 $160,274 0.7% -4.6%
34 Port Royal 14,573 $326,136 14.4% 12.1%
35 Beaufort 13,582 $368,692 5.3% 8.0%
36 Cayce 13,755 $195,496 0.9% 5.1%
37 North Myrtle Beach 18,850 $398,493 1.9% 4.2%
38 Clemson 17,557 $363,229 1.9% 3.6%
39 West Columbia 17,459 $211,731 1.1% 4.7%
40 Fort Mill 26,022 $505,522 8.1% 2.5%
41 Easley 23,135 $298,368 2.2% 3.0%
42 Lexington 23,665 $289,130 2.6% 1.2%
43 Bluffton 29,375 $494,049 6.4% 5.0%
44 Simpsonville 24,133 $360,596 4.1% 1.4%
45 Greenwood 22,528 $169,336 0.7% 3.2%
46 North Augusta 24,425 $235,984 1.7% 2.0%
47 Conway 25,121 $283,094 14.2% -0.6%
48 Hanahan 20,731 $384,391 1.7% 5.3%
49 Mauldin 25,267 $282,107 2.2% 3.2%
50 Anderson 29,345 $247,118 1.9% 9.4%
51 Aiken 32,014 $248,666 1.6% 1.3%
52 Greer 37,010 $327,385 5.3% 1.7%
53 Myrtle Beach 36,064 $301,360 2.7% 0.3%
54 Spartanburg 38,301 $209,990 0.8% 3.4%
55 Florence 39,931 $207,198 0.3% 1.5%
56 Sumter 43,046 $179,925 0.3% 4.0%
57 Hilton Head Island 37,708 $746,761 -0.9% 4.6%
58 Goose Creek 45,858 $309,585 3.0% 3.3%
59 Summerville 50,839 $370,371 1.0% 1.3%
60 Greenville 70,838 $295,392 1.6% 3.3%
61 Rock Hill 74,170 $312,290 1.8% 3.0%
62 Mount Pleasant 90,945 $777,495 2.3% 7.8%
63 North Charleston 115,755 $292,239 1.1% 5.7%
64 Columbia 136,754 $222,099 -0.4% 3.9%
65 Charleston 149,960 $530,719 1.4% 6.3%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.