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Towns / South Carolina

Kershaw, South Carolina

Kershaw is a small town of about 2,000 people in Lancaster County, South Carolina. It's growing fast: its population is up 18% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 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 48 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
2,038
up 18% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$168,200
Lancaster County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$68,693
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Charlotte area
97.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
17 miles
Lancaster, SC
To Charlotte
48 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.7% below the U.S. average in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Kershaw itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMusc Health Lancaster Medical Center in Lancaster, about 17 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 48 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 Kershaw 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.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 18% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$168,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Lancaster County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$750 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$68,693U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$692 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
18%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.3U.S. average = 100 (the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia 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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area, not Kershaw 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
2,0382020: 1,729
Median age
36.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%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 (19%); manufacturing (18%); government (10%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Musc Health Lancaster Medical Center, Lancaster, SC, about 17 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

3 public schools in Kershaw, run by Lancaster 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
76%U.S.: 76%

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
32°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
86 a year
Nights at or below freezing
59 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.3 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
516 feet

Weather station: Wateree Dam (16 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

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: Musc Health Lancaster Medical Center, Rock Hill, Charlotte.

Lancaster County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the East Richland Street-East Church Street Historic District and the Matson Street Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Congaree National Park50 miles

Read about Kershaw's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kershaw?

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

  • Abney Crossroads, SC (unincorporated)208 people, 5 miles
  • Heath Springs, SC860 people, 6 miles
  • Elgin, SC (unincorporated)2,360 people, 11 miles
  • Jefferson, SC797 people, 14 miles
  • Buford, SC (unincorporated)346 people, 14 miles
  • Springdale, SC (unincorporated)2,198 people, 15 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.