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Towns / South Carolina

Bamberg, South Carolina

Bamberg is a small town of about 2,900 people in Bamberg County, South Carolina. It's the county seat. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Greenville, is about 131 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,920
down 4.6% since 2020
Prices, rural South Carolina
86.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
26 miles
Fairfax, SC
To Greenville
131 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.8% below the U.S. average in the parts of South Carolina outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Bamberg to say.
  • A safer neighborhood30 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 10.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 47.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byAllendale County Hospital in Fairfax, about 26 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityGreenville is about 131 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bamberg meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then
Up 23%Bamberg County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$817 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Homes owned by the people living in them
66%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$999 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
14%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.2U.S. average = 100 (the parts of South Carolina outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of South Carolina outside metro areas, not Bamberg alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
2,9202020: 3,060
Median age
49.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
28%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
24%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (30%); professional and business services (15%)
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
32%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Allendale County Hospital, Fairfax, SC, about 26 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Hampton Regional Medical Center, Varnville, SC, about 31 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Bamberg, run by Bamberg 03.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on South Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
80%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
36°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
63 a year
Nights at or below freezing
38 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.5 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
161 feet

Weather station: Bamberg (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Allendale County Hospital, Columbia, Greenville.

Bamberg County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Woodlands and the Bamberg Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Congaree National Park35 miles

Read about Bamberg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bamberg?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Cordova, SC138 people, 11 miles
  • Norway, SC276 people, 12 miles
  • Olar, SC201 people, 12 miles
  • Rowesville, SC247 people, 12 miles
  • Hilda, SC425 people, 12 miles
  • Branchville, SC971 people, 13 miles
  • Ehrhardt, SC432 people, 14 miles
  • Edisto, SC (unincorporated)1,801 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.