Census-designated place · York County, South Carolina

Lesslie, South Carolina

Lesslie is a census-designated place in York County, South Carolina, part of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area. It has 3,077 residents. Lesslie, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 57 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,785 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #40 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), poverty rate (low) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on public libraries (low), hospital quality rating (low) and rent-burdened households (high).

57Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,785 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #40 of 268 in SC
Population: 3,077 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 507.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4541065

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.

Safety29#11,027/15,637
Economy78#3,424/15,631
Housing39#9,179/14,977
Health50#7,729/15,609
Healthcare39#9,614/15,650
Environment62#5,935/15,453
Education61#6,155/15,649
Infrastructure62#5,900/15,650
Community68#5,004/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,749/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lesslie, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “York 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 · low0.43%
93/100South Carolina 0.49%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Poverty rate · low3.3%
91/100South Carolina 13.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.326
90/100South Carolina 0.475United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Loneliness · low31.5%
88/100South Carolina 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyYork County value
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100South Carolina 9.2United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationYork County value

Weaknesses

Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
7/100South Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesYork County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100South Carolina 3.4United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesYork County value
Rent-burdened households · high70.8%
17/100South Carolina 52.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drought exposure · high75%
18/100South Carolina 72%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAYork County value
Homicide rate · high6.0 /100k
21/100South Carolina 8.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataYork County value
Drug overdose deaths · high22.8 /100k
22/100South Carolina 22.1 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataYork County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
10.6% (2015-2019) → 70.8% (2020-2024)
+60 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
23.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
18.1% (2015-2019) → 37.3% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$70,265 (2015-2019) → $100,618 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
11.2% (2015-2019) → 3.3% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
87.4% (2015-2019) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
+4.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 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.

Over about five years, Lesslie, South Carolina improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined1

Rent / income+19 points18.1% → 37.3%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Lesslie, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.9 min2015-2019	27.3 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.1%2015-2019	20.7%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	91.3%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Effective property tax rate	0.55%2015-2019	0.43%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	41%
High school diploma or higher	87.4%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3122015-2019	0.3262020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$70,2652015-2019	$100,6182020-2024	+43%	Within the margin of error	78%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	18.1%2015-2019	37.3%2020-2024	+19 points	Declined	3%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.8%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%

“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 Lesslie, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lesslie, 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, Lesslie, South Carolina itself moved −6.2 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

3,077 residents (±840)

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

1,161 households (±250)

Lesslie, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k12%†138
$25k–50k11%†129
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,161 households (±250)

Lesslie, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own88%1,024
Rent12%†137

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,493 workers (±403)

Lesslie, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone80%1,189
Carpool2.6%†39
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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-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 York County, the county holding most of Lesslie's residents.

York County has 6,231 employer establishments, 209 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.92× South Carolina's), with 97,731 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,857. The Census Bureau also counts 24,974 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,231; 24,974 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 209; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 97,731
Average annual pay: $55,857; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	501	16.8	0.81×About typical	4,935	$67,537	981
Restaurants and other eating places	458	15.4	0.84×About typical	10,228	$19,357	103
Specialty trade contractors	433	14.5	0.94×About typical	3,445	$62,968	1,555
Lessors of real estate	395	13.3	1.08×About typical	1,123	$49,077	2,239
Religious organizations	243	8.2	1.47×More than typical	1,725	$27,008	—
Limited-service restaurants	210	7.1	0.88×About typical	4,782	$17,560	40
Real estate agents and brokers	206	6.9	1.42×More than typical	355	$46,696	776
Full-service restaurants	193	6.5	0.84×About typical	4,694	$21,617	38
Services to buildings and dwellings	188	6.3	0.94×About typical	1,386	$31,085	1,722
Offices of other health practitioners	169	5.7	0.93×About typical	693	$45,444	528
Building equipment contractors	165	5.5	0.92×About typical	1,564	$61,269	316
Construction of buildings	153	5.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	722	$65,663	745

Rank places for an industry Open York County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 297,770 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 $868.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lesslie, South Carolina: $282 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $868.3K; −67% vs FY2025
Per resident: $282; US $1,994
Sole-source: 13%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.5%; 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 Energy$623.4K72%
Department of the Navy$191.7K22%
Defense Logistics Agency$67.3K7.7%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$17.7K2.0%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$1,0460.1%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$6100.1%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

156.2KFY2017
113.7KFY2018
120.4KFY2019
149KFY2020
99.3KFY2021
86.6KFY2022
2.4MFY2023
633.5K

Top industries (NAICS)

Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$618.7K71%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$95.1K11%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$94.8K11%
Fishing · 1141$62.4K7.2%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$16.2K1.9%
Ventilation, heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment manufacturing · 3334$4,843

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

Lesslie, South Carolina's figures are part of those of York County, SC ($23.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in York 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.

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

House

Ralph NormanR-SC-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 11.3%

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.

York County74100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC75

Other cities and towns in York 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/4541065

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends