Lake Wylie, South Carolina

Area Profile

16,006 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lake Wylie, in York County.

77out of 100
Area Score
Top 2% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 5% of 4,199 cities measured82
SchoolsTop 8% of 4,162 cities measured83
GrowthTop 2% of 4,224 cities measured85
Housing affordability2,873rd of 4,218 cities measured58
ClimateTop 27% of 4,225 cities measured75
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured74
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stability2,281st of 4,226 cities measured56
The quick read

Lake Wylie ranks in the top 5% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.0% and median household income of $112,097. The unemployment rate is published for York County, SC, which contains Lake Wylie, rather than for Lake Wylie alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 68% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 8% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 3,321 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 47% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for York County, SC, which contains Lake Wylie, rather than for Lake Wylie alone.

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
16,006
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$112,097
Top 12% nationally
Density
2,032/sq mi
7.9 sq mi of land
Median age
38.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
South Carolina
Nearest major airport
CLT
10 mi · Charlotte/Douglas Intl
Median home value
$485,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across York County, SC, which contains Lake Wylie, is 4.0%, lower than in 61% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across York County, SC, which contains Lake Wylie, grew 3.2% over the past year, to 154,817 employed residents.

48% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 87% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $112,097 is higher than in 88% 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 ±$12,3992024 ACS 5-Year$112,097Top 12%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,0702024 ACS 5-Year$52,762Top 15%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%Top 41%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year35.3 minBottom 16%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year47.5%Top 13%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year68.4%25th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentYork County, SC’s figureJuly 2026154,817Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)York County, SC’s figureJuly 2026+4.7%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)York County, SC’s figureJuly 2026+3.2%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceYork County, SC’s figureJuly 2026161,27263rd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 40%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-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)York County, SC’s figureJuly 2026−0.9%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateYork County, SC’s figureJuly 20264.0%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year21.0%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024112k108k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $112,097 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for York County, SC, which contains this city.

68% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
68.0%
Top 10% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
64.0%
Top 21% in South Carolina
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Clover HighYork 022,71315.270%74%
Oakridge MiddleYork 021,14614.163%65%
Crowders Creek ElementaryYork 021,10413.581%66%
Clover MiddleYork 0296913.847%51%
Oakridge ElementaryYork 0281814.177%70%
Larne ElementaryYork 0257410.658%50%
Griggs Road ElementaryYork 0251013.184%65%
Kinard ElementaryYork 0246313.265%46%
Bethany ElementaryYork 0238811.867%47%
Bethel ElementaryYork 0235311.062%62%

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 $1,970 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.41% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,610, close to the $1,710 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,610 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $64,400 a year, about 57% of the median household income here of $112,097.

The typical renter household here spends 35% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,710 a month.

A median home at $485,600 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $137,543, 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
34.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,610
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,710
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$485,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Lake Wylie’s median household income of $112,097, 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 ±0.72024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 24%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year80.9%60th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4522024 ACS 5-Year6,45591st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,470Bottom 46%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,980Top 41%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,610Top 46%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1122024 ACS 5-Year$1,710Bottom 14%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$30,3242024 ACS 5-Year$485,60088th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2202024 ACS 5-Year$1,97055th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$26,7982024 ACS 5-Year$137,543Top 9%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.41%6th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±14%2024 ACS 5-Year34.8%Bottom 21%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1072024 ACS 5-Year9389th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%65th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%55th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2552024 ACS 5-Year61491st 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

85/ 100
Top 2% of 4,224 published city profiles

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.

Federal tax returns show York County, which contains Lake Wylie, 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 11.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for York County, SC, which contains Lake Wylie, rather than for Lake Wylie alone.

Units permitted
3,321
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.3
Top 9% nationally
Year over year
+47%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
37.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Lake Wylie, SC is not one. This is the figure for York County, SC, which contains this city.

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, 7.8 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.

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

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.

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 Lake Wylie (York County) rather than Lake Wylie itself. 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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year97.4%Top 15%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 28%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%Top 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT10 mi10,000 ft
Donaldson FldGYH78 mi8,000 ft
Columbia MetroCAE80 mi8,601 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
77
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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 Lake Wylie
ConcordCabarrus County108,71960Concord vs Lake Wylie
GastoniaGaston County82,88458Gastonia vs Lake Wylie
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
Fort MillYork County30,77581

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 Lake Wylie side by side with a similar place.

Lake Wylie vs BrownsburgLake Wylie vs Fort Mill

Moving to Lake Wylie 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
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
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 Lake Wylie

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Lake Wylie with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2971040,595$96,563$386,80077