City · Dillon County, South Carolina

Dillon, South Carolina

Dillon is a city in Dillon County, South Carolina. It has 6,354 residents. Dillon, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,219 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #256 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an Amtrak station (low), pharmacies (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), homicide rate (high) and life expectancy (low).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,219 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #256 of 268 in SC
Population: 6,354 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,167.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4519420

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety0#15,618/15,637
Economy1#15,535/15,631
Housing43#8,599/14,977
Health2#15,345/15,609
Healthcare14#13,489/15,650
Environment45#8,478/15,453
Education3#15,107/15,649
Infrastructure10#14,151/15,650
Community22#12,237/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,821/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dillon, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Dillon 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 Amtrak station · low5 mi
96/100South Carolina 18 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDillon County value
Pharmacies · high2.9 /10k
95/100South Carolina 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDillon County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.39%
94/100South Carolina 0.49%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public EV charging ports · high17.5 /10k
93/100South Carolina 3.9 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyDillon County value
Grocery stores · high2.5 /10k
90/100South Carolina 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDillon County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100South Carolina 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDillon County value

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high57.8 /100k
0/100South Carolina 18.7 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDillon County value
Homicide rate · high46.9 /100k
0/100South Carolina 8.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDillon County value
Life expectancy · low68.0 yrs
1/100South Carolina 75.1 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDillon County value
Violent crime rate · high1,050 /100k
1/100South Carolina 388 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDillon County value
Premature death · high18,436 /100k
1/100South Carolina 10,517 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDillon County value
Traffic deaths · high47.4 /100k
2/100South Carolina 20.5 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataDillon County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.2% (2015-2019) → 77.7% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Average commute timeWorsening
20.0 min (2015-2019) → 27.8 min (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeImproving
35.2% (2015-2019) → 29.9% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
47.2% (2015-2019) → 52.4% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.5% (2015-2019) → 49.9% (2020-2024)
−3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
29.3% (2015-2019) → 32.8% (2020-2024)
+3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Dillon, South Carolina improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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 points61.2% → 77.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Dillon, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	27.8 min2020-2024	+7.8 min	Within the margin of error	4%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.7%2015-2019	12.4%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Broadband subscriptions	61.2%2015-2019	77.7%2020-2024	+17 points	Improved	84%
Child poverty rate	47.2%2015-2019	52.4%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.39%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	66%
High school diploma or higher	76.0%2015-2019	78.7%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	62%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4882020-2024	+0.052	Within the margin of error	15%
Median household income	$40,3602015-2019	$35,8912020-2024	−11%	Within the margin of error	3%
Poverty rate	29.3%2015-2019	32.8%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent as share of income	35.2%2015-2019	29.9%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Rent-burdened households	53.5%2015-2019	49.9%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Unemployment rate	6.7%2015-2019	8.0%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.9%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	18%

“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 Dillon, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dillon, 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, Dillon, South Carolina itself moved −3 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

6,354 residents (±23)

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

2,512 households (±185)

Dillon, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k29%†725
$25k–50k31%†770
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,512 households (±185)

Dillon, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own54%1,355
Rent46%1,157

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,173 workers (±311)

Dillon, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone79%1,724
Carpool19%†420
Public transit0.0%†

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 Dillon County, the county holding most of Dillon's residents.

Dillon County has 495 employer establishments, 179 for every 10,000 residents (0.72× the US rate of 248; 0.78× South Carolina's), with 7,209 paid employees at an average annual pay of $38,172. The Census Bureau also counts 1,970 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 495; 1,970 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 179; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 7,209
Average annual pay: $38,172; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	44	15.9	0.86×About typical	764	$14,616	17
Religious organizations	33	11.9	2.15×More than typical	205	$19,220	—
Ambulatory health care services	28	10.1	0.48×Fewer than typical	349	$49,218	98
Limited-service restaurants	23	8.3	1.03×About typical	497	$13,901	9
Gasoline stations	21	7.6	2.34×More than typical	306	$28,820	—
Grocery and convenience stores	21	7.6	2.55×More than typical	235	$17,604	13
Lessors of real estate	20	7.2	0.59×Fewer than typical	25	$44,640	104
Full-service restaurants	15	5.4	0.70×Fewer than typical	195	$16,272	6
Specialty trade contractors	15	5.4	0.35×Fewer than typical	88	$45,000	103
General merchandise stores	14	5.1	2.86×More than typical	314	$27,013	12
Truck transportation	13	4.7	0.93×About typical	129	$69,054	121
Traveler accommodation	12	4.3	2.40×More than typical	132	$17,356	4

Rank places for an industry Open Dillon County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 27,708 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 $11K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dillon, South Carolina: $1.73 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $11K; −60% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.73; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 24%; 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 the Army$5,97154%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$2,67724%
Agricultural Research Service$2,36721%

Top recipients

DILLON TRACTOR & IMPLEMENT COMPANY, INC.$8,33776%
DILLON, COUNTY OF SC$2,67724%

Spending by fiscal year

8.7KFY2017
6.5KFY2018
5.3KFY2019
8.1KFY2020
2.1KFY2021
1.8KFY2022
2.9KFY2023
7.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$5,97154%
Waste treatment and disposal · 5622$2,67724%
Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$2,36721%

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 Dillon, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Dillon, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Dillon County, SC ($267.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 4.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Dillon 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.

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

House

Russell FryR-SC-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.6%

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.

Dillon County6100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Dillon 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/4519420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends