Living in Jackson, South Carolina: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.1% below the U.S. average in the Augusta-Richmond County metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Silver Bluff High, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byPiedmont Augusta Hospital in Augusta, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityGreenville is about 109 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 Jackson 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: $199,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 22%Aiken County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $541 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $39,634U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,128 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940: 5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.9U.S. average = 100 (the Augusta-Richmond County metro area)

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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Augusta-Richmond County metro area, not Jackson 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: 1,6392020: 1,528
Median age: 59.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 33%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%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: Professional and business services (17%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Piedmont Augusta Hospital, Augusta, GA, about 12 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

1 public school in Jackson, run by Aiken 01. The nearest public high school is Silver Bluff High, about 5 miles away.

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.

Weather

January average low: 35°F
July average high: 94°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 86 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 51 a year
Rain and melted snow: 44.1 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 203 feet

Weather station: Augusta Bush Fld Ap (10 miles 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

Piedmont Augusta HospitalEmergency room12

Columbia, SCCity of 147,00071

Greenville, SCMetro of 1 million109

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: Piedmont Augusta Hospital, Columbia, Greenville.

Aiken County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Ninety Six National Historic Site57 miles

Read about Jackson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Jackson?

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

New Ellenton, SC2,300 people, 9 miles
Gloverville, SC2,500 people, 14 miles
Clearwater, SC3,300 people, 14 miles
Burnettown, SC3,300 people, 14 miles
Belvedere, SC5,200 people, 17 miles
Hephzibah, GA3,800 people, 18 miles

Smaller places

Beech Island, SC (unincorporated)1,578 people, 9 miles
Langley, SC (unincorporated)1,310 people, 13 miles

Sources

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.