Census-designated place · Pickens County, South Carolina

Arial, South Carolina

Arial is a census-designated place in Pickens County, South Carolina, part of the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metro area. It has 1,919 residents. Arial, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 37 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,854 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #87 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), effective property tax rate (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on dental care shortage (high), food environment index (low) and injury deaths (high).

37Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,854 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #87 of 268 in SC
Population: 1,919 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 420.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 4502440

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety45#8,575/15,637
Economy48#8,191/15,631
Housing35#9,661/14,977
Health23#12,010/15,609
Healthcare42#9,099/15,650
Environment74#4,042/15,453
Education46#8,385/15,649
Infrastructure36#9,950/15,650
Community30#10,953/15,651
Leisure & amenities52#7,561/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Arial, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Pickens County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100South Carolina 4.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Effective property tax rate · low0.43%
92/100South Carolina 0.49%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Job growth · high2.0%
88/100South Carolina 0.7%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataPickens County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100South Carolina 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePickens County value
Mammography screening · high53.0%
85/100South Carolina 51.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePickens County value
Comfortable days · high31.1%
83/100South Carolina 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPickens County value

Weaknesses

Dental care shortage · high17.0
12/100South Carolina 9.2United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPickens County value
Food environment index · low6.9
13/100South Carolina 6.5United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePickens County value
Injury deaths · high122 /100k
14/100South Carolina 111 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePickens County value
Drought exposure · high78%
14/100South Carolina 72%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAPickens County value
Voter turnout · low57.1%
15/100South Carolina 64.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionPickens County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
15/100South Carolina 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPickens County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,185 (2015-2019) → 1,919 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
80.3% (2015-2019) → 49.5% (2020-2024)
−31 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.0% (2015-2019) → 87.6% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
21.6% (2015-2019) → 7.9% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
37.7% (2015-2019) → 24.8% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
High school diploma or higherImproving
78.5% (2015-2019) → 90.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Arial, South Carolina improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+17 points71.0% → 87.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Arial, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.2 min2015-2019	27.7 min2020-2024	+5.6 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	19.1%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Broadband subscriptions	71.0%2015-2019	87.6%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	0.50%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
High school diploma or higher	78.5%2015-2019	90.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	97%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	47%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4402015-2019	0.3742020-2024	−0.066	Within the margin of error	89%
Median household income	$39,8752015-2019	$54,2862020-2024	+36%	Within the margin of error	67%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.3%2015-2019	10.8%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	85%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Arial, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Arial, South Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Arial, South Carolina itself moved +4.9 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,919 residents (±460)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

894 households (±214)

Arial, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k15%†132
$25k–50k32%†290
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

894 households (±214)

Arial, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own90%801
Rent10%†93

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,055 workers (±331)

Arial, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone84%†890
Carpool9.4%†99
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Pickens County, the county holding most of Arial's residents.

Pickens County has 2,254 employer establishments, 165 for every 10,000 residents (0.66× the US rate of 248; 0.72× South Carolina's), with 28,852 paid employees at an average annual pay of $40,893. The Census Bureau also counts 10,446 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,254; 10,446 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 165; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 28,852
Average annual pay: $40,893; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Pickens County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	236	17.3	0.94×About typical	4,627	$16,935	40
Specialty trade contractors	206	15.1	0.97×About typical	862	$52,316	989
Ambulatory health care services	141	10.3	0.50×Fewer than typical	1,055	$69,844	300
Religious organizations	127	9.3	1.68×More than typical	1,131	$22,341	—
Limited-service restaurants	117	8.6	1.07×About typical	2,414	$15,937	8
Lessors of real estate	109	8	0.65×Fewer than typical	293	$45,652	950
Full-service restaurants	95	7	0.91×About typical	1,814	$18,155	24
Construction of buildings	80	5.9	0.77×Fewer than typical	272	$61,511	455
Services to buildings and dwellings	72	5.3	0.78×Fewer than typical	390	$35,469	942
Building equipment contractors	66	4.8	0.80×About typical	382	$55,901	219
Automotive repair and maintenance	63	4.6	0.92×About typical	278	$39,680	146
Other specialty trade contractors	61	4.5	1.78×More than typical	256	$48,980	299

Rank places for an industry Open Pickens County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 136,591 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $4,812 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Arial, South Carolina: $2.51 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $4,812; +26% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.51; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$4,812100%

Top recipients

ADVANCED PROSTHETICS OF EASLEY, INC.$4,812100%

Spending by fiscal year

10.7KFY2017
10KFY2018
696.7FY2019
9.7KFY2020
14.4KFY2021
8.2KFY2022
6.6KFY2023
11KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$4,812100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Arial, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Arial, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Pickens County, SC ($17.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Arial is mostly in Pickens County.

See federal money in Pickens County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Arial, South Carolina is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Sheri BiggsR-SC-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Pickens County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC60

Other cities and towns in Pickens County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4502440

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends