Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / South Carolina

Kingstree, South Carolina

Kingstree is a small town of about 3,000 people in Williamsburg County, South Carolina. It's the county seat. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.7 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 121 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
3,022
down 6.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$177,000
Williamsburg County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$26,322
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural South Carolina
86.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
22 miles
Manning, SC
To Charlotte
121 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 6.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood26 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 8.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 51.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMcLeod Health Clarendon in Manning, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 121 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 Kingstree 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

Worth a closer look

Kingstree has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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
$177,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Williamsburg County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$546 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$26,322U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
48%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$981 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
9%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 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of South Carolina outside metro areas, not Kingstree 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
3,0222020: 3,230
Median age
42.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%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 (32%); construction (17%); retail (11%)
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Below the poverty line
34%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: McLeod Health Clarendon, Manning, SC, about 22 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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 Kingstree, run by Williamsburg 01.

Colleges in or next to town: Williamsburg Technical College (under 1,000 students).

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
46%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
71%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
33°F
July average high
93°F
Days 90°F or hotter
78 a year
Nights at or below freezing
64 a year
Rain and melted snow
52.5 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
56 feet

Weather stations: Kingstree (1 mile away) and Cades 4 W (10 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: McLeod Health Clarendon, Goose Creek, Charlotte.

Williamsburg 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

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Kingstree Historic District (Additional Documentation) and Kingstree Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Congaree National Park45 miles
  • Charles Pinckney National Historic Site57 miles

Read about Kingstree's history on Wikipedia.

Know Kingstree?

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

  • Lane, SC449 people, 10 miles
  • Greeleyville, SC357 people, 11 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.