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

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1% above the U.S. average in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Stratford High, about 3 miles away.
A hospital close byRoper St. Francis Hospital-Berkeley INC in Summerville, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 156 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 Sangaree 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Sangaree runs into the built-up area around Charleston (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

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: $251,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 16%Berkeley County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,419 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $77,673U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 85%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,171 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940: 0%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 101U.S. average = 100 (the Charleston-North Charleston 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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Charleston-North Charleston metro area, not Sangaree 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 8,681The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 36.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 22%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: 3%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

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: Retail (18%); schools, health care and social services (15%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (12%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%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: Roper St. Francis Hospital-Berkeley INC, Summerville, SC, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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 Sangaree, run by Berkeley 01. The nearest public high school is Stratford High, about 3 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 87%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: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 72 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 45 a year
Rain and melted snow: 52.5 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 71 feet

Weather stations: Summerville 4W (6 miles away) and Charleston Intl Ap (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

Roper St. Francis Hospital-Berkeley INCEmergency room4

Summerville, SCCity of 53,0004

Charlotte, NCMetro of 2.9 million156

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: Roper St. Francis Hospital-Berkeley INC, Summerville, Charlotte.

Berkeley 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:

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park20 miles
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site21 miles
Reconstruction Era National Historical Park51 miles
Congaree National Park57 miles

Read about Sangaree's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sangaree?

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

Ladson, SC16,100 people, 2 miles
Lincolnville, SC1,200 people, 2 miles
Ridgeville, SC1,200 people, 12 miles
Ravenel, SC2,700 people, 19 miles
Hollywood, SC5,700 people, 20 miles
James Island, SC12,700 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Pimlico, SC (unincorporated)1,765 people, 11 miles
Pinopolis, SC (unincorporated)854 people, 14 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.