Newberry County, SC

County Profile

38,435 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Newberry County, SC.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

60out of 100
Area Score
Top 46% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity871st of 1,463 counties measured50
Schools918th of 1,377 counties measured37
GrowthTop 30% of 1,453 counties measured62
Housing affordabilityTop 26% of 1,462 counties measured79
ClimateTop 42% of 1,463 counties measured71
Physical resilienceTop 41% of 1,463 counties measured66
AccessTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured82
Economic stability1,212th of 1,463 counties measured33
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $61,780, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 46% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.0 students for every teacher.

175 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 6% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
38,435
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$61,780
Bottom 41% nationally
Density
61/sq mi
630.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Newberry County
South Carolina
Micro area
Nearest major airport
CAE
37 mi · Columbia Metro
Median home value
$173,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.3% — higher than in all but 42% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.1% over the past year, to 18,226 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$64,31963rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$60,04157th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,8112024 ACS 5-Year$61,780Bottom 41%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1582024 ACS 5-Year$32,295Bottom 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$50,521Bottom 26%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.4%Bottom 24%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.4 minBottom 27%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.1%Top 46%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.0%86th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202618,226Bottom 27%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.8%Top 40%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.1%Top 37%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202619,03927th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.2%Bottom 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%29th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.4%Top 32%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.3%Bottom 42%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%19th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.42.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.3% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202462k51k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $61,780 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

46% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.0 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.0
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
45.9%
Bottom 35% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
46.4%
Bottom 17% in South Carolina
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Newberry HighNewberry 0183716.147%62%
Mid-Carolina HighNewberry 0168115.552%77%
Newberry MiddleNewberry 0162912.325%24%
Mid-Carolina MiddleNewberry 0155312.658%51%
Boundary St. ElementaryNewberry 0142911.347%37%
Newberry ElementaryNewberry 0142111.426%20%
Gallman ElementaryNewberry 0140810.740%26%
Prosperity-Rikard ElementaryNewberry 0138614.362%47%
Little Mountain ElementaryNewberry 0136712.768%54%
Pomaria-Garmany ElementaryNewberry 0133912.152%47%
Whitmire Community School (High)Newberry 0126412.032%37%
Whitmire Community School (Elementary)Newberry 0125013.247%47%

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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina is up 59% over five years, and up 5.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,154 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.67% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $994, some 14% above the $872 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $994 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $39,800 a year, about 64% of the median household income here of $61,780.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $872 a month.

A median home at $173,300 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,956, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
27.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$994
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$872
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$173,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Newberry County’s median household income of $61,780, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina’s figure2026 Q2+5.1%75th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina’s figure2026 Q2+58.5%95th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina’s figure2026 Q2+108.1%74th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 48%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year73.1%42nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±392024 ACS 5-Year18,55862nd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$787Top 23%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,192Top 11%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$994Top 25%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$532024 ACS 5-Year$872Top 50%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,6572024 ACS 5-Year$173,30046th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$692024 ACS 5-Year$1,15431st percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,8482024 ACS 5-Year$67,956Bottom 30%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.67%36th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.2%Top 44%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2292024 ACS 5-Year92873rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%65th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%71st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3702024 ACS 5-Year3,23368th percentileof 3,2222024 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

62/ 100
Top 30% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 4% since 2020, reaching 39,203 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 160 units authorized in 2025, up 3% on the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 39,203 residents in 2024, up 0.7% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 175 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 3% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Newberry County gained about 1.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $64,319, above the $60,041 of households that moved out.

At 4.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
175
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.6
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
+6%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
3.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202439k38k
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 rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
31%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$64,319
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$60,041
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lexington County, SC 412 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Richland County, SC 307 people · 18% of arrivals
  3. Laurens County, SC 81 people · 4.7% of arrivals
  4. Saluda County, SC 70 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Greenville County, SC 44 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Richland County, SC 234 people · 18% of departures
  2. Lexington County, SC 189 people · 15% of departures
  3. Laurens County, SC 114 people · 8.8% of departures
  4. Greenville County, SC 56 people · 4.3% of departures
  5. Saluda County, SC 48 people · 3.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025193155
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−17%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.6 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NEWBERRY, 1.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals46.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

66 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 44% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneElevated
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, cold wave, inland flooding, heat wave, hail, wildfire, drought, strong wind, landslide, 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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Newberry County has a modeled homicide rate of about 8.7 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 25.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 20.4 per 100,000 residents in Newberry County.

Homicide
8.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
25.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
28.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Newberry County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Columbia Metro at 37 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.6%Bottom 33%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle37 miBottom 48%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%Bottom 28%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Columbia MetroCAE37 mi8,601 ft
Donaldson FldGYH55 mi8,000 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
60
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

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)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

Cities in Newberry County, SC