Fort Mill, South Carolina

Area Profile

30,775 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Fort Mill, in York County.

81out of 100
Area Score
Top 1% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 1% of 4,199 cities measured92
SchoolsTop 2% of 4,162 cities measured92
GrowthTop 7% of 4,224 cities measured77
Housing affordability2,506th of 4,218 cities measured63
ClimateTop 27% of 4,225 cities measured75
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured74
AccessTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 4,226 cities measured74
The quick read

Fort Mill ranks in the top 1% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $121,823.

Public schools test above most of the state: 77% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 2% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 861 units authorized over the past twelve months, 16% below the prior year.

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
30,775
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$121,823
Top 9% nationally
Density
1,570/sq mi
19.6 sq mi of land
Median age
38.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
South Carolina
Nearest major airport
CLT
14 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$487,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 3.2% over the past year, to 18,305 employed residents.

58% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $121,823 is higher than in 91% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsYork County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$84,16165th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftYork County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,89044th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,7542024 ACS 5-Year$121,823Top 9%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,0542024 ACS 5-Year$54,005Top 14%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.4%Top 21%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.5 minBottom 41%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year57.6%Top 8%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year66.0%20th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202618,305Bottom 20%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+11.0%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+3.2%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202618,95820th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.7%Top 33%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$68,900Top 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,990Bottom 40%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year27.5%93rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.71.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2021-01 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

2021202220232024128k121k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $121,823 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.

Largest occupations — Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand40,540$38,850
Retail Salespersons35,150$33,580
Cashiers27,350$29,610
Fast Food and Counter Workers27,050$28,880
Registered Nurses27,010$90,620
Customer Service Representatives26,120$44,980

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

77% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
76.6%
Top 5% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
74.9%
Top 3% in South Carolina
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Fort Mill HighYork 042,11515.791%91%
Nation Ford HighYork 041,92113.887%88%
Catawba Ridge High SchoolYork 041,70415.9——
Springfield ElementaryYork 0479812.371%63%
Doby's Bridge ElementaryYork 0479413.279%74%
Forest Creek MiddleYork 0475713.5——
Sugar Creek ElementaryYork 0475511.457%59%
Fort Mill ElementaryYork 0472912.666%65%
Riverview ElementaryYork 0471111.168%62%
Springfield MiddleYork 0471011.865%64%
River Trail ElementaryYork 0470412.8——
Banks Trail MiddleYork 0463812.371%68%

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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 97.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area is up 50% over five years, and up 1.5% 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 $3,385 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.69% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,801, some 20% above the $1,503 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,801 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $72,000 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $121,823.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,503 a month.

A median home at $487,500 costs 3.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $136,988, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
97.3

Prices here run about 3% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
32.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,801
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,503
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$487,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Fort Mill’s median household income of $121,823, 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
Cost of living indexthe Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure202397.3Top 34%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.5%30th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.9%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+124.2%91st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.6Bottom 23%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.4%65th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4912024 ACS 5-Year11,46395th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,641Bottom 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,214Bottom 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,801Bottom 42%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1462024 ACS 5-Year$1,503Bottom 19%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,6162024 ACS 5-Year$487,50088th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1522024 ACS 5-Year$3,38577th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$15,9742024 ACS 5-Year$136,988Top 9%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.69%29th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year32.0%Bottom 31%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±152024 ACS 5-Year963rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%25th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1842024 ACS 5-Year32485th percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

77/ 100
Top 7% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 4 years of a series running from 2020 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 44% since 2020, reaching 36,244 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 4 calendar years through 2025.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 36,244 residents in 2024, up 7.7% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 861 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 15% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show York County, which contains Fort Mill, gained about 1.0% 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 $84,161, above the $69,890 of households that moved out.

At 28.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
861
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
28.0
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
−16%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
15.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202436k25k
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
+1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
80%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$84,161
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$69,890
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Mecklenburg County, NC 4,028 people · 26% of arrivals
  2. Lancaster County, SC 899 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  3. Gaston County, NC 669 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  4. Chester County, SC 507 people · 3.2% of arrivals
  5. Union County, NC 327 people · 2.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Mecklenburg County, NC 2,163 people · 16% of departures
  2. Lancaster County, SC 1,135 people · 8.6% of departures
  3. Chester County, SC 730 people · 5.5% of departures
  4. Gaston County, NC 577 people · 4.4% of departures
  5. Richland County, SC 449 people · 3.4% 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. This is the figure for York County, SC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k897
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−19%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 31°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 46, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ROCK HILL YORK CO AP, 6.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year642024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals31°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year462024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
46
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
64
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

74 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% 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 stormElevated
LightningModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Cold waveHigh
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
30
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
522
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Fort Mill's police department reported 30 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 522.

York County records 6.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 22.8 per 100,000 residents in York County.

Homicide
6.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
22.8
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
13.1
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Fort Mill’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Fort Mill (York County) rather than Fort Mill itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 Charlotte/Douglas Intl at 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year96.0%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 41%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.8%Top 18%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT14 mi10,000 ft
Columbia MetroCAE74 mi8,601 ft
Donaldson FldGYH83 mi8,000 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
81
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—

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Other cities in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
CharlotteMecklenburg County903,84459Charlotte vs Fort Mill
ConcordCabarrus County108,71960Concord vs Fort Mill
GastoniaGaston County82,88458Gastonia vs Fort Mill
Rock HillYork County75,25967
HuntersvilleMecklenburg County63,96966
KannapolisCabarrus County57,89054
MooresvilleIredell County52,38165
Indian TrailUnion County42,03666
MonroeUnion County36,75961
SalisburyRowan County35,82553
CorneliusMecklenburg County32,78366
MatthewsMecklenburg County30,57766

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Fort Mill side by side with a similar place.

Fort Mill vs FranklinFort Mill vs Spring Hill

Moving to Fort Mill from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

ZIP codes in Fort Mill

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Fort Mill with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Fort Mill closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2971546,865$109,689$448,100—