Orangeburg, SC

Micro Area Profile

83,253 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Orangeburg, SC micropolitan area.

46out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 14% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity713th of 835 metro and micro areas measured31
Growth599th of 834 metro and micro areas measured38
Housing affordability625th of 835 metro and micro areas measured67
ClimateTop 14% of 835 metro and micro areas measured77
Physical resilience644th of 835 metro and micro areas measured34
AccessTop 46% of 835 metro and micro areas measured80
Economic stability801st of 835 metro and micro areas measured10
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 6.1% and the Opportunity signal places Orangeburg in the bottom 15%.

Rent takes 33% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.1 times what its owners earn.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, earthquake and tornado.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
83,253
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,675
Bottom 4% nationally
Density
75/sq mi
1,106.4 sq mi of land
Median age
40.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
South Carolina
Nearest major airport
CAE
39 mi · Columbia Metro
Median home value
$115,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.1% — higher than in all but 7% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 1.4% over the past year, to 33,652 employed residents.

Median household income of $45,675 is lower than in 96% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,6912024 ACS 5-Year$45,675Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1982024 ACS 5-Year$27,036Bottom 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.6%Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.3 minBottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.4%Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.3%82nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202633,652Bottom 46%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.3%Bottom 49%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.4%Top 13%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202635,83846th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year71.0%Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%22nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Top 13%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.1%Bottom 7%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year6.7%28th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.83.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.1% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

There are 14.7 students for every full-time teacher across 27 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
30
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.7
across 27 of them
Math proficiency
—
Reading proficiency
—
The 12 largest of 30 public schools, by enrollment. None of them has a proficiency figure in the federal file.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacher
Orangeburg Wilkinson HighOrangeburg99216.5
Lake Marion High SchoolOrangeburg69217.3
Edisto PrimaryOrangeburg63515.1
Marshall ElementaryOrangeburg62516.4
Edisto HighOrangeburg61412.8
William J. Clark MiddleOrangeburg58713.0
Orangeburg High School for Health Professions · charterLimestone Charters Association49218.9
Sheridan ElementaryOrangeburg45014.1
Carver Edisto MiddleOrangeburg43912.9
Edisto ElementaryOrangeburg41915.5
Robert E. Howard MiddleOrangeburg39615.8
Holly Hill ElementaryOrangeburg35612.7

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against South Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $749 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.65% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $910, some 8% above the $841 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $910 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $36,400 a year, about 80% of the median household income here of $45,675.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $841 a month.

A median home at $115,800 costs 2.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $56,285, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
33.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$910
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$841
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$115,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Orangeburg’s median household income of $45,675, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.1Top 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.0%33rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±502024 ACS 5-Year41,52754th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$750Top 17%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,091Top 2%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$910Top 8%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$362024 ACS 5-Year$841Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,5712024 ACS 5-Year$115,8005th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$432024 ACS 5-Year$7496th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,0232024 ACS 5-Year$56,285Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.65%30th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.0%Bottom 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2862024 ACS 5-Year1,66762nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%71st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year16.3%96th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6192024 ACS 5-Year8,45071st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

38/ 100
Ranks 599 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running 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 fallen 1% since 2020, to 83,129 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 104 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 19% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
104
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 24% nationally
Year over year
+16%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
19.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202484k83k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

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 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.7 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ORANGEBURG MUNI AP, 3.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals92°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

34 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and inland flooding, with hurricane alone responsible for 34% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeModerate
HurricaneElevated
Ice stormModerate
LightningModerate
TornadoModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, heat wave, wildfire, hail, inland flooding, drought, cold wave, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

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

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
School results
Too few schools here reported proficiency for a figure to be weighted honestly. AreaProfile requires at least two reporting schools and 200 enrolled students behind a place-level rate, because below that a single small school decides the number.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Columbia Metro at 39 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle39 miTop 47%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%Bottom 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Columbia MetroCAE39 mi8,601 ft
Charleston AFB/IntlCHS58 mi9,001 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS67 mi8,001 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
46
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—

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

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