A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bethune$1,020/mo

Typical home $180K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50% · or rent about $1,591/mo · Housing →

Donalds$1,150/mo

Typical home $203K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.50% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

The difference: $130 a month, about $1,600 a year, between Donalds and Bethune.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BethuneDonalds

Snow a year1″1″

January low32°F —

July high92°F —

Growing season (days)224d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)27th 31st

Outdoors & history

BethuneDonalds

Trails1 mi —

Conserved land2.4%—

National Register places—1

Archive photos6 3

Famous people born here1 —

Community

BethuneDonalds

Library hours a week21 hrs 20 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

114 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

BethuneSC DonaldsSC

Bethune ↔ Donalds114 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs South Carolina average

BethuneDonalds

People

Population 438Highest 355Lowest

Median age 41.7±13Lowest 4% above SC 46.4±11.8Highest 15% above SC

Donalds and Bethune are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 22.4%±13.1Highest SC: 21.4% 18%±4.7Lowest SC: 21.4%

Bethune and Donalds are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 24.7%±1.1Highest SC: 18.9% 16.6%±6.8Lowest SC: 18.9%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 21.8%Lowest SC: 32.1% 24%Highest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.9%±9.8Highest SC: 5.7% 3.1%±3.9Lowest SC: 5.7%

Bethune and Donalds are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $44,000±$24kLowest 37% below SC $50,909±$9kHighest 27% below SC

Donalds and Bethune are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $106,800±$13kLowest 59% below SC $106,900±$15kHighest 59% below SC

Donalds and Bethune are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,591±$997Highest 35% above SC $850±$217Lowest 28% below SC

Bethune and Donalds are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $535Lowest 57% below SC $538Highest 57% below SC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 82.4%±34.2Highest SC: 52.1% 57.5%±54.7Lowest SC: 52.1%

Bethune and Donalds are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 34%Highest SC: 14.1% 21.1%Lowest SC: 14.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 66.7%Lowest SC: 71.9% 67.1%Highest SC: 71.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1960Highest 32 yrs older than SC 1956Lowest 36 yrs older than SC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 29 minHighest 12% above SC 26 minLowest about the SC average

Work from home 2.1%±4.1Lowest SC: 11.5% 11.9%±11Highest SC: 11.5%

Donalds and Bethune are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0.8%Lowest 1.6%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 36.3 miHighest 21.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.48Highest 0.47Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Camden (8%)Greenwood (9%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in DonaldsFew work in Bethune

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.4%Highest 1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.0 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.9 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 53.5Highest 29.7Lowest

South Carolina average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bethune neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bethune’s Town Square.

Donalds neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Donalds’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bethune and Donalds

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Towns like Bethune

+ Compare

Greeleyville362 people · $151K homes

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Society Hill388 people · $93K homes

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Swansea744 people · $129K homes

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Hemingway660 people · $172K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bethune vs Donalds

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

114 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bethune and Donalds

Towns like Bethune

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