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Towns / South Carolina

Blacksburg, South Carolina

Blacksburg is a small town of about 2,000 people in Cherokee County, South Carolina. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Charlotte, is about 39 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,965
up 4.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$157,400
Cherokee County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$32,092
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural South Carolina
86.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Gaffney, SC
To Charlotte
39 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 moneyA typical home costs 4.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 12.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byCherokee Medical Center in Gaffney, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 39 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 Blacksburg 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$157,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Cherokee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$834 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$32,092U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
42%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,009 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
13%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%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 Blacksburg 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
1,9652020: 1,887
Median age
33.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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
Manufacturing (24%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); retail (15%)
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
31%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cherokee Medical Center, Gaffney, SC, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

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

4 public schools in Blacksburg, run by Cherokee 01.

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
56%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
73%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
26°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
34 a year
Nights at or below freezing
93 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.5 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
757 feet

Weather stations: Ninety Nine Is (6 miles away) and Gaffney 6 E (3 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Cherokee Medical Center, Gastonia, Charlotte.

Cherokee County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Kings Mountain State Park Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Kings Mountain National Military Park6 miles
  • Cowpens National Battlefield16 miles
  • Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site53 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway57 miles

Read about Blacksburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Blacksburg?

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

  • Grover, NC810 people, 5 miles
  • Earl, NC211 people, 5 miles
  • Patterson Springs, NC590 people, 8 miles
  • Hickory Grove, SC478 people, 11 miles
  • Light Oak, NC (unincorporated)277 people, 12 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.