Census-designated place · Aiken County, South Carolina

Beech Island, South Carolina

Beech Island is a census-designated place in Aiken County, South Carolina, part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC metro area. It has 1,578 residents. Beech Island, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,868 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #199 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), days with unhealthy air (low) and comfortable days (high). It ranks worst on unemployment rate (high), mental health care shortage (high) and median household income (low).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,868 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #199 of 268 in SC
Population: 1,578 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 320.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4504915

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety9#14,240/15,637
Economy9#14,256/15,631
Housing29#10,567/14,977
Health17#12,965/15,609
Healthcare19#12,720/15,650
Environment63#5,671/15,453
Education24#11,828/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,641/15,650
Community34#10,381/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,799/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Beech Island, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Aiken 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

Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
92/100South Carolina 0.49%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAiken County value
Comfortable days · high31.1%
83/100South Carolina 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAiken County value
Natural hazard risk · low12.1
81/100South Carolina 51.22025Federal Emergency Management AgencyAiken County value
Mammography screening · high51.0%
76/100South Carolina 51.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAiken County value
High ozone days · low0 days
76/100South Carolina 0 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAiken County value

Weaknesses

Unemployment rate · high15.7%
2/100South Carolina 4.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
3/100South Carolina 14.9United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAiken County value
Median household income · low$36,027
5/100South Carolina $72,507United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Drug overdose deaths · high30.5 /100k
9/100South Carolina 22.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAiken County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100South Carolina 3.4United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAiken County value
Homicide rate · high8.5 /100k
11/100South Carolina 8.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAiken County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,165 (2016-2020) → 1,578 (2020-2024)
+35%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Poverty rateWorsening
10.9% (2016-2020) → 34.3% (2020-2024)
+23 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 11.9% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
31.5% (2016-2020) → 52.2% (2020-2024)
+21 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 15.7% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
100.0% (2016-2020) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
−8 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
2.5% (2016-2020) → 10.2% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts4 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.4% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherImproving
79.7% (2016-2020) → 86.7% (2020-2024)
+7 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.5% → 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.

There is not enough history to compare Beech Island, South Carolina over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Beech Island, 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.

No place that looked like Beech Island, South Carolina five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

1,578 residents (±586)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,578 residents (±586)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

White37%†579
Black52%†820
Hispanic or Latino4.2%†66

Education

1,024 residents (±296)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

No high school diploma13%†136
High school or GED40%†407
Some college20%†208

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

645 households (±177)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k30%†194
$25k–50k29%†190
$50k–75k19%†125
$75k–100k12%†77
$100k–150k3.3%†21
$150k–200k5.9%†38
$200k or more0.0%0

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

645 households (±177)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own76%489
Rent24%†156

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

87 households (±63)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00014%†12
$1,000–1,50084%†73

Home values

489 homes (±136)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $150k63%†306
$150k–250k21%†105
$250k–400k10%†50

Age of homes

762 homes (±190)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

2010 or later2.8%†21
2000–20092.6%†20
1980–199926%†197

Size of homes

762 homes (±190)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom8.5%†65
2 bedrooms21%†158

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

569 workers (±192)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone88%†499
Carpool4.4%†25
Public transit0.0%0
Walk6.7%†38
Bike0.0%0
Work from home1.2%†7
Other0.0%0

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

562 workers (±190)

Beech Island, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under 15 min15%†86
15–29 min40%†225
30–44 min17%†95

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-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 Aiken County, the county holding most of Beech Island's residents.

Aiken County has 3,067 employer establishments, 174 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.76× South Carolina's), with 54,369 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,280. The Census Bureau also counts 14,719 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,067; 14,719 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 174; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 54,369
Average annual pay: $60,280; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	266	15.1	0.82×About typical	5,271	$18,401	73
Ambulatory health care services	252	14.3	0.69×Fewer than typical	2,664	$69,025	702
Specialty trade contractors	193	10.9	0.71×Fewer than typical	1,173	$53,829	1,257
Limited-service restaurants	138	7.8	0.98×About typical	2,953	$16,873	32
Religious organizations	135	7.7	1.38×More than typical	1,139	$22,443	—
Full-service restaurants	112	6.4	0.83×About typical	2,032	$21,080	28
Lessors of real estate	111	6.3	0.51×Fewer than typical	269	$51,245	1,089
Services to buildings and dwellings	94	5.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	645	$44,144	1,403
Gasoline stations	87	4.9	1.52×More than typical	707	$26,054	3
Building equipment contractors	86	4.9	0.81×About typical	636	$54,409	201
Construction of buildings	69	3.9	0.52×Fewer than typical	477	$69,478	511
Offices of other health practitioners	68	3.9	0.63×Fewer than typical	280	$45,825	213

Rank places for an industry Open Aiken County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 176,336 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 $2,065 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Beech Island, South Carolina: $1.31 per resident (US $2,007).

Obligations: $2,065; −63% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.31; US $2,007
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.7%

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

Top buying agencies

Federal Acquisition Service$2,065100%

Top recipients

LIVELYS COLLISION CENTER LLC$2,065100%

Spending by fiscal year

6KFY2017
9KFY2018
6KFY2019
7.2KFY2020
7.1KFY2021
3.6KFY2022
0FY2023
3.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Automotive repair and maintenance · 8111$2,065100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 9, 2026, loaded Oct 9, 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 Beech Island, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Beech Island, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Aiken County, SC ($4.9B 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: Beech Island is mostly in Aiken County.

See federal money in Aiken 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.

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

House

Joe WilsonR-SC-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 5.5%

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.

Aiken County50100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC29

Other cities and towns in Aiken 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/4504915

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

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