City · Lexington County, South Carolina

Cayce, South Carolina

Cayce is a city in Lexington County, South Carolina, part of the Columbia, SC metro area. It has 13,741 residents. Cayce, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 47 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,327 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #65 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), loneliness (low) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on uninsured residents (under 65) (high), hot days (high) and firearm deaths (high).

47Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,327 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #65 of 268 in SC
Population: 13,741 (2020-2024)
Land area: 17 mi²
Density: 814.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4512655

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety20#12,498/15,637
Economy37#9,877/15,631
Housing55#6,769/14,977
Health34#10,379/15,609
Healthcare50#7,815/15,650
Environment63#5,635/15,453
Education57#6,783/15,649
Infrastructure52#7,480/15,650
Community66#5,399/15,651
Leisure & amenities51#7,626/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Distance to an airport · low9 mi
93/100South Carolina 24 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLexington County value
Loneliness · low30.8%
92/100South Carolina 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Effective property tax rate · low0.50%
88/100South Carolina 0.49%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002023U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLexington County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100South Carolina 9.2United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLexington County value
Pharmacies · high2.2 /10k
83/100South Carolina 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLexington County value

Weaknesses

Uninsured residents (under 65) · high13.8%
19/100South Carolina 11.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Hot days · high72 days
20/100South Carolina 59 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLexington County value
Firearm deaths · high17.8 /100k
23/100South Carolina 18.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLexington County value
Public EV charging ports · low2.3 /10k
23/100South Carolina 3.9 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLexington County value
Drug overdose deaths · high22.3 /100k
24/100South Carolina 22.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLexington County value
Property crime rate · high1,586 /100k
24/100South Carolina 1,676 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationLexington County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.8% (2015-2019) → 89.4% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateImproving
19.4% (2015-2019) → 13.7% (2020-2024)
−5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
9.3% (2015-2019) → 13.8% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,582 (2015-2019) → $62,045 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 1.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+16%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
34.2% (2015-2019) → 31.1% (2020-2024)
−3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Cayce, South Carolina improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Improved2

Broadband+6.6 points82.8% → 89.4%
Household income+18%$52,582 → $62,045

Declined1

Uninsured+4.5 points9.3% → 13.8%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Cayce, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.9 min2015-2019	19.6 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	39%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.2%2015-2019	31.1%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Broadband subscriptions	82.8%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Improved	41%
Child poverty rate	18.5%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Effective property tax rate	0.56%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	94.5%2015-2019	92.7%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	67%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4022015-2019	0.3992020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	54%
Median household income	$52,5822015-2019	$62,0452020-2024	+18%	Improved	29%
Poverty rate	19.4%2015-2019	13.7%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent as share of income	30.1%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent-burdened households	50.3%2015-2019	49.5%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	4.5%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.3%2015-2019	13.8%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Declined	12%

“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 Cayce, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cayce, 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, Cayce, South Carolina itself moved −3.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

13,741 residents (±635)

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

6,556 households (±360)

Cayce, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k12%761
$25k–50k28%1,852
$50k–75k19%1,225

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,556 households (±360)

Cayce, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own61%3,968
Rent39%2,588

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

7,280 workers (±781)

Cayce, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone85%6,183
Carpool8.7%†634
Public transit0.0%0

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 Columbia, 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 Lexington County, the county holding most of Cayce's residents.

Lexington County has 7,391 employer establishments, 239 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 1.05× South Carolina's), with 117,298 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,570. The Census Bureau also counts 25,853 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 7,391; 25,853 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 239; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 117,298
Average annual pay: $49,570; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	570	18.4	1.19×About typical	4,709	$60,901	2,080
Restaurants and other eating places	557	18	0.98×About typical	12,429	$18,413	138
Ambulatory health care services	544	17.6	0.84×About typical	8,065	$59,964	962
Lessors of real estate	310	10	0.81×About typical	813	$50,488	2,544
Limited-service restaurants	264	8.5	1.06×About typical	6,274	$16,902	45
Religious organizations	254	8.2	1.48×More than typical	2,202	$22,953	—
Full-service restaurants	246	7.9	1.03×About typical	5,245	$19,858	65
Services to buildings and dwellings	234	7.6	1.12×About typical	2,202	$38,045	1,898
Building equipment contractors	214	6.9	1.15×About typical	2,519	$62,354	418
Construction of buildings	194	6.3	0.83×About typical	909	$72,714	820
Automotive repair and maintenance	184	5.9	1.18×About typical	1,013	$48,933	403
Insurance agencies and brokerages	181	5.8	1.33×More than typical	640	$57,263	518

Rank places for an industry Open Lexington County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 309,883 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 $10.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cayce, South Carolina: $771 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $10.6M; −33% vs FY2025
Per resident: $771; US $1,995
Sole-source: 32%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.4%; 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$4.5M42%
Department of the Navy$2M19%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$1.7M16%
Office of Procurement Operations$853.6K8.1%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$321.1K3.0%
Public Buildings Service$252.4K2.4%
Department of the Army$223.6K2.1%
Social Security Administration$125K1.2%

Top recipients

INTEGER TECHNOLOGIES LLC$2M19%
DOMINION ENERGY SOUTH CAROLINA, INC.$1.7M16%
BOYER COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION INC$1.3M12%
BRADLEY TECHNOLOGIES INC$948.3K8.9%
TITAN-AUXO, LLC$452.5K4.3%

Spending by fiscal year

16.7MFY2017
18.5MFY2018
17.2MFY2019
12.9MFY2020
12.9MFY2021
11.3MFY2022
26.6MFY2023
17.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$2.1M20%
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution · 2211$1.7M16%
Utility system construction · 2371$1.3M12%
Investigation and security services · 5616$1.1M10%
Employment services · 5613$861.6K8.1%
Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Cayce, South Carolina

DOMINION ENERGY ELECTRIC FY26$942.1K
DOMINION ENERGY SOUTH CAROLINA, INC.· Lexington County, SC· Facilities & utilities· Dec 5, 2025 – Jun 16, 2026· 15B30326F00000014
DOMINION GAS FY25$844.5K
DOMINION ENERGY SOUTH CAROLINA, INC.· Lexington County, SC· Facilities & utilities· Nov 15, 2024 – Oct 27, 2025· 15B30325F00000018
DOMINION ELECTRIC FY25$809.6K
DOMINION ENERGY SOUTH CAROLINA, INC.· Lexington County, SC· Facilities & utilities· Nov 25, 2024 – Jan 22, 2026· 15B30325F00000021
DOMINION GAS FY26

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Cayce, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Cayce, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Lexington County, SC and Richland County, SC ($833.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lexington 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.

Cayce, South Carolina is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

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

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Columbia, SC54

Other cities and towns in Lexington 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/4512655

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends