Town · Barnwell County, South Carolina

Williston, South Carolina

Williston is a town in Barnwell County, South Carolina. It has 2,870 residents. Williston, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,750 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #195 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), public transit commuters (high) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on distance to an emergency room (high), broadband subscriptions (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (low).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,750 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #195 of 268 in SC
Population: 2,870 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 320.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4577965

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety2#15,269/15,637
Economy3#15,203/15,631
Housing93#1,072/14,977
Health5#14,884/15,609
Healthcare4#15,039/15,650
Environment54#7,121/15,453
Education17#13,061/15,649
Infrastructure17#13,001/15,650
Community51#7,647/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,327/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low14.5%
100/100South Carolina 52.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Public transit commuters · high9.8%
97/100South Carolina 0.4%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Social associations · high18.1 /10k
97/100South Carolina 11.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBarnwell County value
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
86/100South Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBarnwell County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100South Carolina 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBarnwell County value
Comfortable days · high31.6%
85/100South Carolina 31.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBarnwell County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an emergency room · high21.1 mi
2/100South Carolina 7.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBarnwell County value
Broadband subscriptions · low74.9%
3/100South Carolina 88.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
3/100South Carolina 5.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBarnwell County value
Premature death · high15,621 /100k
3/100South Carolina 10,517 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBarnwell County value
Reading scores · low2.55
3/100South Carolina 2.93United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBarnwell County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100South Carolina 15.5United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBarnwell County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.8% (2015-2019) → 14.5% (2020-2024)
−37 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
77.0% (2015-2019) → 51.6% (2020-2024)
−25 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
51.6% (2015-2019) → 30.5% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$20,076 (2015-2019) → $39,484 (2020-2024)
+97%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioImproving
8.1× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
−67%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.5% (2015-2019) → 74.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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.

Over about five years, Williston, South Carolina improved on 4 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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.

Improved4

Poverty−21 points51.6% → 30.5%
Rent burden−37 points51.8% → 14.5%
Child poverty−25 points77.0% → 51.6%
Inequality−0.1270.574 → 0.447

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Williston, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.2 min2015-2019	21.8 min2020-2024	−5.4 min	Within the margin of error	91%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.9%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	+8.8 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Broadband subscriptions	64.5%2015-2019	74.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Child poverty rate	77.0%2015-2019	51.6%2020-2024	−25 points	Improved	96%
Effective property tax rate	0.44%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	3%
High school diploma or higher	80.7%2015-2019	85.6%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5742015-2019	0.4472020-2024	−0.127	Improved	98%
Poverty rate	51.6%2015-2019	30.5%2020-2024	−21 points	Improved	99%
Rent as share of income	35.5%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	−9.2 points	Within the margin of error	92%
Rent-burdened households	51.8%2015-2019	14.5%2020-2024	−37 points	Improved	99%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.6%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 10944 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 Williston, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Williston, 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, Williston, South Carolina itself moved +23.2 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

2,870 residents (±54)

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

1,227 households (±170)

Williston, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k31%†380
$25k–50k31%†382
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,227 households (±170)

Williston, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own55%670
Rent45%†557

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

1,289 workers (±197)

Williston, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone84%1,088
Carpool2.6%†34
Public transit9.8%†

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 Barnwell County, the county holding most of Williston's residents.

Barnwell County has 353 employer establishments, 173 for every 10,000 residents (0.70× the US rate of 248; 0.76× South Carolina's), with 3,904 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,640. The Census Bureau also counts 1,618 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 353; 1,618 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 173; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 3,904
Average annual pay: $42,640; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	34	16.6	3.00×More than typical	154	$13,643	—
Restaurants and other eating places	30	14.7	0.80×Fewer than typical	413	$16,138	8
Limited-service restaurants	18	8.8	1.10×About typical	326	$16,712	—
Specialty trade contractors	18	8.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	96	$43,344	110
Ambulatory health care services	17	8.3	0.40×Fewer than typical	287	$39,422	89
Gasoline stations	15	7.3	2.26×More than typical	71	$25,408	—
Legal services	12	5.9	1.09×About typical	42	$51,167	6
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	5.4	1.07×About typical	28	$33,750	45
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	4.4	0.65×Too few to compare	47	$42,489	223
Truck transportation	9	4.4	0.87×Too few to compare	29	$54,690	53
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	8	3.9	0.96×Too few to compare	27	$22,593	15
Banks and credit unions	8	3.9	1.21×Too few to compare	56	$40,893	—

Rank places for an industry Open Barnwell County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 20,430 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 Williston, South Carolina: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
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

582.2FY2017
9.3KFY2018
249.1FY2019
254FY2020
-249.1FY2022
-254FY2025

What was bought

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

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

See federal money in Barnwell 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.

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

House

Joe WilsonR-SC-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 5.5%

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.

Barnwell County7100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Barnwell 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/4577965

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends