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%

Dillon$680/mo

Typical home $121K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.45% · or rent about $630/mo · Housing →

Chester$840/mo

Typical home $140K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.87% · or rent about $902/mo · Housing →

The difference: $150 a month, about $1,900 a year, between Chester and Dillon.

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.

Report cards

Dillon places higher on 11 of 19 SC lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every South Carolina ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

D−DillonSafer than 0% of U.S. towns –ChesterNot graded

Schools

C−DillonBetter than 19% of districts in the state CChesterBetter than 31% of districts in the state

Health

D−DillonHealthier than 2% of U.S. towns D−ChesterHealthier than 1% of U.S. towns

11Dillon

7Chester

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest property taxCost of living · 172 towns #9#83 Cheapest rentCost of living · 170 towns #8#61 Lowest depressionHealth · 173 towns #81#46 Highest incomeIncome · 172 towns #158#129 Most walkableOutdoors · 173 towns #27#47 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 173 towns #152#132 Highest graduation rateSchools · 160 towns #102#118 Most activeHealth · 173 towns #157#168

Left end = #1 in South Carolina. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Dillon’s rankings →

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

DillonChester

Snow a year1″3″

January low32°F 31°F

July high92°F 92°F

Growing season (days)227d 210d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)80th 40th

Outdoors & history

DillonChester

Trails1 mi 0 mi

Conserved land4.2%4.2%

Settled1888 —

National Register places4 4

Archive photos12 18

Famous people born here21 31

Community

DillonChester

Library hours a week48 hrs 48 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

106 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DillonSC ChesterSC

Dillon ↔ Chester106 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

DillonChester

People

Population 6,354Highest 5,218Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -6% SC: +10.7% -6% SC: +10.7%

Median age 40.4±5.8Highest about the SC average 38.8±7.7Lowest 3% below SC

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

Kids under 18 24.7%±5.1 SC: 21.4% 24.7%±5.7 SC: 21.4%

Age 65+ 20%±3.9Highest SC: 18.9% 15.4%±3.5Lowest SC: 18.9%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 12.4%Lowest SC: 32.1% 14%Highest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.9%±1Lowest SC: 5.7% 1.2%±1.4Highest SC: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $35,891±$3kLowest 48% below SC $46,138±$7kHighest 33% below SC

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $115,500±$27kLowest 55% below SC $123,000±$34kHighest 53% below SC

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $630±$22Lowest 47% below SC $902±$102Highest 24% below SC

Property taxmedian, yearly $522Lowest 58% below SC $1,075Highest 14% below SC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 49.9%±13.4Highest SC: 52.1% 45%±13.6Lowest SC: 52.1%

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

Below poverty line 32.8%Highest SC: 14.1% 19.4%Lowest SC: 14.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 53.9%Lowest SC: 71.9% 59.1%Highest SC: 71.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1972Highest 20 yrs older than SC 1962Lowest 30 yrs older than SC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 28 minLowest 9% above SC 28 minHighest 11% above SC

Work from home 0.6%±0.9Lowest SC: 11.5% 1.6%±1.8Highest SC: 11.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 20.2%Highest 6.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 24.3 miLowest 26.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.34Highest 0.88Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Florence (8%)Rock Hill (14%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in ChesterFew work in Dillon

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4.2% 4.2%

Trailsmapped miles 1.4 miHighest 0.3 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 2Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 82.3Highest 72.0Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #110 of 141 in SC #109 of 141 in SC

School district Dillon 80 · Dillon 04Chester 01

High school in town Dillon HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 16.4 —

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.

Dillon neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Dillon’s Town Square.

Chester neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Chester’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Dillon and Chester

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Dillon

+ Compare

Newtown972 people · $61K homes

Towns like Dillon

+ Compare

Edgefield4,010 people · $123K homes

+ Compare

Walhalla4,157 people · $172K homes

+ Compare

Abbeville4,872 people · $106K homes

+ Compare

Bennettsville7,751 people · $92K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks South Carolina towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Dillon vs Chester

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $150 more a month in Chester

Dillon places higher on 11 of 19 SC lists

What daily life feels like in each

106 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Dillon and Chester

Bordering Dillon

Towns like Dillon

Post to Dillon

Check your email