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%

Donalds$1,150/mo

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

Waterloo$1,480/mo

Typical home $219K (Zillow) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →

The difference: $330 a month, about $3,900 a year, between Waterloo and Donalds.

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

Grades and rankings, side by side

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.

Schools

–DonaldsNot graded C−WaterlooBetter than 24% of districts in the state

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

DonaldsWaterloo

Snow a year1″1″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)31st 70th

Outdoors & history

DonaldsWaterloo

National Register places1 —

Archive photos3 —

Community

DonaldsWaterloo

Library hours a week20 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

16 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DonaldsWaterloo

Donalds ↔ Waterloo16 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

DonaldsWaterloo

People

Population 355Highest 212Lowest

Median age 46.4±11.8Lowest 15% above SC 49±24.2Highest 22% above SC

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

Kids under 18 18%±4.7Lowest SC: 21.4% 25.5%±23.2Highest SC: 21.4%

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

Age 65+ 16.6%±6.8Lowest SC: 18.9% 26.9%±13.8Highest SC: 18.9%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 24%Highest SC: 32.1% 21.9%Lowest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.1%±3.9Lowest SC: 5.7% 5.2%±6.7Highest SC: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $50,909±$9k 27% below SC —

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $106,900±$15k 59% below SC —

Rentmedian gross, monthly $850±$217 28% below SC —

Property taxmedian, yearly $538Highest 57% below SC $383Lowest 69% below SC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.5%±54.7Lowest SC: 52.1% 100%±100Highest SC: 52.1%

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

Below poverty line 21.1%Lowest SC: 14.1% 37.3%Highest SC: 14.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 67.1%Lowest SC: 71.9% 71.1%Highest SC: 71.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1956Lowest 36 yrs older than SC 1970Highest 22 yrs older than SC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minLowest about the SC average 43 minHighest 69% above SC

Work from home 11.9%±11Highest SC: 11.5% 0%±26.4Lowest SC: 11.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 1.6%Highest 1.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 21.8 miLowest 32.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.47Lowest 0.58Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Greenwood (9%)Laurens (13%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WaterlooFew work in Donalds

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 29.7Highest 4.5Lowest

Schools

School district —Laurens 55

High school in town —None in town

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.

Donalds neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Donalds’s Town Square.

Waterloo neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Waterloo’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Donalds and Waterloo

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

Towns like Donalds

+ Compare

Bethune438 people · $107K homes

+ Compare

Society Hill388 people · $93K homes

+ Compare

Greeleyville362 people · $151K homes

+ Compare

Paxville453 people · $134K 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.

Donalds vs Waterloo

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $330 more a month in Waterloo

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

16 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Donalds and Waterloo

Towns like Donalds

Post to Donalds

Check your email