Census-designated place · Oconee County, South Carolina

Keowee Key, South Carolina

Keowee Key is a census-designated place in Oconee County, South Carolina, part of the Seneca, SC metro area. It has 3,351 residents. Keowee Key, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 61 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,077 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #32 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), lack of reliable transportation (low) and poverty rate (low). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), access to exercise opportunities (low) and injury deaths (high).

61High

Quality-of-life score: #6,077 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #32 of 268 in SC
Population: 3,351 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 966.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4538058

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.

Safety28#11,296/15,637
Economy92#1,242/15,631
Housing28#10,842/14,977
Health55#7,012/15,609
Healthcare47#8,308/15,650
Environment52#7,373/15,453
Education61#6,127/15,649
Infrastructure86#2,144/15,650
Community61#6,138/15,651
Leisure & amenities56#6,908/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100South Carolina 51.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value
Lack of reliable transportation · low4.5%
97/100South Carolina 9.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · low2.1%
96/100South Carolina 13.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Loneliness · low28.7%
96/100South Carolina 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Child care cost burden · low19.7%
95/100South Carolina 28.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value
Frequent mental distress · low14.0%
95/100South Carolina 18.5%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high28.3 /100k
11/100South Carolina 22.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataOconee County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low50.9%
11/100South Carolina 69.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value
Injury deaths · high116 /100k
18/100South Carolina 111 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value
Premature death · high10,970 /100k
20/100South Carolina 10,517 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value
Mental health providers · low136 /100k
22/100South Carolina 239 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value
Food environment index · low7.3
22/100South Carolina 6.5United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteOconee County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,757 (2016-2020) → 3,351 (2020-2024)
+22%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
87.6% (2016-2020) → 50.0% (2020-2024)
−38 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
1.3% (2016-2020) → 6.9% (2020-2024)
+5.6 pts4 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.4% → 9.8%
Median household incomeImproving
$101,399 (2016-2020) → $124,788 (2020-2024)
+23%4 yearsCensus table B19013US $67,340 → $81,604
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.0% (2016-2020) → 2.6% (2020-2024)
+2.6 pts4 yearsCensus table B23025US 8.1% → 4.0%
Average commute timeImproving
29.4 min (2016-2020) → 25.7 min (2020-2024)
−12%4 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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 Keowee Key, South Carolina over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Keowee Key, 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 Keowee Key, 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

3,351 residents (±755)

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

3,351 residents (±755)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

White92%3,093
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino3.7%†123

Education

2,905 residents (±591)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

No high school diploma9.4%†272
High school or GED10%†299
Some college7.3%†213

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

1,404 households (±175)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k3.3%†46
$25k–50k5.2%†73
$50k–75k19%†264
$75k–100k11%†159
$100k–150k23%†316
$150k–200k18%†253
$200k or more21%†293

† 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

1,404 households (±175)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own99%1,388
Rent1.1%†16

† 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

16 households (±19)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5000.0%0
$1,500–2,000

Home values

1,388 homes (±175)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $150k4.0%†56
$150k–250k7.6%†106
$250k–400k24%†327

Age of homes

1,765 homes (±214)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

2010 or later4.1%†73
2000–200924%427
1980–199964%1,128

Size of homes

1,765 homes (±214)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom1.2%†21
2 bedrooms12%†206

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

1,088 workers (±307)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone61%†669
Carpool2.1%†23
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.7%†8
Bike0.0%0
Work from home30%†331
Other5.2%†57

† 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

757 workers (±251)

Keowee Key, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under 15 min38%†291
15–29 min19%†142
30–44 min27%†205

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 Seneca, 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 Oconee County, the county holding most of Keowee Key's residents.

Oconee County has 1,761 employer establishments, 216 for every 10,000 residents (0.87× the US rate of 248; 0.95× South Carolina's), with 22,175 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,297. The Census Bureau also counts 6,457 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,761; 6,457 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 216; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 22,175
Average annual pay: $53,297; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	166	20.4	1.31×More than typical	763	$50,117	680
Restaurants and other eating places	116	14.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,899	$19,027	29
Lessors of real estate	111	13.6	1.10×About typical	338	$43,340	682
Ambulatory health care services	103	12.6	0.61×Fewer than typical	697	$54,881	190
Religious organizations	102	12.5	2.25×More than typical	516	$19,841	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	71	8.7	1.29×More than typical	678	$47,882	671
Construction of buildings	66	8.1	1.07×About typical	390	$63,585	292
Full-service restaurants	62	7.6	0.99×About typical	881	$20,850	13
Real estate agents and brokers	60	7.4	1.51×More than typical	166	$43,741	197
Landscaping services	54	6.6	1.89×More than typical	607	$48,285	233
Other specialty trade contractors	53	6.5	2.59×More than typical	148	$44,743	212
Building equipment contractors	50	6.1	1.02×About typical	300	$49,543	90

Rank places for an industry Open Oconee County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 81,552 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Oconee 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.

Keowee Key, 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.

Oconee County44100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Seneca, SC44

Other cities and towns in Oconee 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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