Census-designated place · Darlington County, South Carolina

Dovesville, South Carolina

Dovesville is a census-designated place in Darlington County, South Carolina, part of the Florence, SC metro area. It has 1,120 residents. Dovesville, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 7 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,608 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #226 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), social associations (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on adult obesity (high), bachelor's degree or higher (low) and violent crime rate (high).

7Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,608 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #226 of 268 in SC
Population: 1,120 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 159.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 4520365

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.

Safety1#15,554/15,637
Economy11#13,856/15,631
Housing26#11,032/14,977
Health3#15,184/15,609
Healthcare14#13,413/15,650
Environment81#2,914/15,453
Education9#14,257/15,649
Infrastructure2#15,265/15,650
Community32#10,586/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,630/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dovesville, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Darlington 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
Social associations · high14.7 /10k
90/100South Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDarlington County value
Pharmacies · high2.4 /10k
87/100South Carolina 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDarlington County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100South Carolina 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDarlington County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDarlington County value
Comfortable days · high30.7%
81/100South Carolina 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDarlington County value

Weaknesses

Adult obesity · high51.9%
0/100South Carolina 38.3%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · low3.6%
1/100South Carolina 32.1%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003High uncertainty
Violent crime rate · high882 /100k
1/100South Carolina 388 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationDarlington County value
Broadband subscriptions · low57.8%
2/100South Carolina 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100South Carolina 31.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Median household income · low$31,918
2/100South Carolina $72,507United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
50.0% (2016-2020) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+50 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
38.9% (2016-2020) → 85.2% (2020-2024)
+46 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 15.7% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
32.5% (2016-2020) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+19 pts4 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.6% → 30.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
11.6% (2016-2020) → 29.9% (2020-2024)
+18 pts4 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.4% → 9.8%
Poverty rateWorsening
40.5% (2016-2020) → 52.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 11.9% → 12.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
14.1% (2016-2020) → 5.0% (2020-2024)
−9.1 pts4 yearsCensus table B23025US 8.1% → 4.0%

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 Dovesville, South Carolina over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dovesville, 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 Dovesville, 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

1,120 residents (±490)

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

1,120 residents (±490)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

White50%†558
Black50%†562
Hispanic or Latino0.0%0

Education

750 residents (±324)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

No high school diploma23%†172
High school or GED43%†324
Some college27%†204

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

363 households (±121)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k31%†113
$25k–50k41%†149
$50k–75k8.5%†31
$75k–100k5.0%†18
$100k–150k14%†52
$150k–200k0.0%0
$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

363 households (±121)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own70%†254
Rent30%†109

† 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

63 households (±60)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00076%†48
$1,000–1,50024%†15

Home values

254 homes (±109)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $150k73%†186
$150k–250k12%†30
$250k–400k8.7%†22

Age of homes

468 homes (±123)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

2010 or later5.3%†25
2000–20090.0%0
1980–199960%†283

Size of homes

468 homes (±123)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.0%0
2 bedrooms0.0%0
3 bedrooms

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

254 workers (±107)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone78%†199
Carpool19%†49
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home2.4%†6
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

248 workers (±107)

Dovesville, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under 15 min32%†79
15–29 min30%†74
30–44 min38%†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 Florence, 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 Darlington County, the county holding most of Dovesville's residents.

Darlington County has 1,121 employer establishments, 179 for every 10,000 residents (0.72× the US rate of 248; 0.79× South Carolina's), with 16,871 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,016. The Census Bureau also counts 4,466 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,121; 4,466 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 179; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 16,871
Average annual pay: $60,016; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	90	14.4	0.78×Fewer than typical	1,579	$16,838	24
Ambulatory health care services	74	11.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	955	$72,809	204
Religious organizations	73	11.7	2.11×More than typical	404	$20,973	—
Limited-service restaurants	46	7.4	0.92×About typical	904	$16,369	8
Specialty trade contractors	46	7.4	0.48×Fewer than typical	311	$55,942	290
Gasoline stations	41	6.6	2.02×More than typical	275	$24,647	3
Full-service restaurants	38	6.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	602	$17,244	9
General merchandise stores	36	5.8	3.26×More than typical	880	$25,423	29
Offices of physicians	30	4.8	0.74×Fewer than typical	530	$90,162	29
Truck transportation	30	4.8	0.95×About typical	297	$60,980	145
Lessors of real estate	26	4.2	0.34×Fewer than typical	40	$70,000	326
Services to buildings and dwellings	26	4.2	0.62×Fewer than typical	274	$27,281	430

Rank places for an industry Open Darlington County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 62,498 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dovesville, South Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

560.3KFY2019
3.6KFY2020
-20KFY2021
3KFY2022
-13.5KFY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Dovesville, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Dovesville, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Darlington County, SC ($695.3K 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: Dovesville is mostly in Darlington County.

See federal money in Darlington 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.

Dovesville, 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.

Darlington County20100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Florence, SC17

Other cities and towns in Darlington 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

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