Florence, SC

Metro Area Profile

199,675 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Florence, SC metropolitan area.

62out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity248th of 379 published metros49
GrowthTop 22% of 821 published metros68
Housing affordability461st of 822 published metros93
ClimateTop 14% of 822 published metros76
Physical resilience521st of 822 published metros46
Access579th of 822 published metros65
Economic stability693rd of 822 published metros25
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.8% and median household income $54,443, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published metro profiles.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 990 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 22% on the prior year.

Rent takes 21% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.1 times that income.

At a glance

Population
199,675
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$54,443
Bottom 13% nationally
Density
147/sq mi
1361.1 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Florence, SC
Nearest major airport
MYR
60 mi · Myrtle Beach Intl
Median home value
$170,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% is lower than 28% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 2.3% over the past year, to 91,867 employed residents.

Median household income of $54,443 is below 87% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,182$54,443Bottom 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,174$32,571Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate19.4%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.9 minBottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher23.0%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment91,867Bottom 41%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)2.9%Top 16%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.3%Top 6%June 2026
Labor force96,538Bottom 41%June 2026
Labor force participation57.9%Bottom 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$55,860Bottom 21%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$43,520Bottom 12%2025 OEWS
Metro employment89,060Bottom 43%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 35%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.8%Top 28%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.33.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.8% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Florence, SC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses3,120$81,170
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,880$24,590
Retail Salespersons2,600$28,650
Cashiers2,430$26,420
Stockers and Order Fillers2,310$35,360
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,270$29,950

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $934 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.1 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
20.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$934
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$170,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.14Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate66.6%Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7491,853Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$22$934Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,876$170,800Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income20.6%Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate14.6%Top 30%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
68/ 100
Top 22% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 200,474 in 2024.

At 5.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
990
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.0
Top 26% nationally
Year over year
+22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
21.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024200k199k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 92°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.3 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FLORENCE RGNL AP, 5.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation45.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing36°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

46 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, tornado and earthquake.

HurricaneElevated
TornadoModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HailModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, ice storm, wildfire, inland flooding, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, drought, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 60 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Myrtle Beach IntlMYR60 mi9,503 ft
Columbia MetroCAE77 mi8,601 ft
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT98 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
62
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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