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Towns / South Carolina

Pamplico, South Carolina

Pamplico is a small town of about 1,100 people in Florence County, South Carolina. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Charlotte, is about 110 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,062
up 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$142,500
Florence County prices up 22% since 2022
Prices, Florence area
86.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
15 miles
Florence, SC
To Charlotte
110 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.2% below the U.S. average in the Florence metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Pamplico to say.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMusc Health Florence Medical Center in Florence, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 110 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 Pamplico 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
$142,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Florence County, 2022 to 2025
Homes owned by the people living in them
49%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$445 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.8U.S. average = 100 (the Florence 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 Florence metro area, not Pamplico 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
1,0622020: 1,060
Median age
28.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
37%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
6%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 (13%)

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Musc Health Florence Medical Center, Florence, SC, about 15 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

2 public schools in Pamplico, run by Florence 02.

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
45%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
34°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
72 a year
Nights at or below freezing
53 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.7 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
82 feet

Weather stations: Lake City 2 SE (13 miles away) and Effingham (12 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: Musc Health Florence Medical Center, Goose Creek, Charlotte.

Florence County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Pamplico's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pamplico?

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

  • Coward, SC729 people, 10 miles
  • Scranton, SC653 people, 11 miles
  • Centenary, SC (unincorporated)191 people, 13 miles
  • Danwood, SC (unincorporated)392 people, 13 miles
  • Daviston, SC (unincorporated)262 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.