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%

Edgefield$1,290/mo

Typical home $224K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.65% · or rent about $731/mo · Housing →

Williston$880/mo

Typical home $151K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.68% · or rent about $677/mo · Housing →

The difference: $420 a month, about $5,000 a year, between Edgefield and Williston.

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

Williston places higher on 10 of 17 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

–EdgefieldNot graded DWillistonSafer than 5% of U.S. towns

Schools

C+EdgefieldBetter than 36% of districts in the state B−WillistonBetter than 45% of districts in the state

Health

D−EdgefieldHealthier than 2% of U.S. towns D−WillistonHealthier than 5% of U.S. towns

5Edgefield

10Williston

Lists won, of 17 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Shortest commuteGetting around · 173 towns #154#50 Highest graduation rateSchools · 160 towns #102#138 Most remote workersWork · 168 towns #135#163 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 173 towns #140#164 Most educatedPeople · 173 towns #151#129 Fastest growingGrowth · 157 towns #157#138 Lowest property taxCost of living · 172 towns #41#25 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 173 towns #135#120

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

EdgefieldWilliston

Snow a year1″1″

January low—35°F

July high—93°F

Growing season (days)—232d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)38th 49th

Outdoors & history

EdgefieldWilliston

Trails—1 mi

Conserved land—0%

National Register places2 1

Archive photos14 —

Famous people born here24 —

Community

EdgefieldWilliston

Library hours a week43 hrs 26 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

39 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

EdgefieldSC WillistonSC

Edgefield ↔ Williston39 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

EdgefieldWilliston

People

Population 4,010Highest 2,870Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -51.1%Lowest SC: +10.7% -8.3%Highest SC: +10.7%

Median age 40±1.8Lowest about the SC average 40.4±13.9Highest about the SC average

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

Kids under 18 13.1%±4Lowest SC: 21.4% 25.9%±6.7Highest SC: 21.4%

Age 65+ 11.4%±2.8Lowest SC: 18.9% 18.6%±6.1Highest SC: 18.9%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 13.5%Lowest SC: 32.1% 18.6%Highest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.3%±2.4Highest SC: 5.7% 1.8%±1.5Lowest SC: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $39,688±$18kHighest 43% below SC $39,484±$8kLowest 43% below SC

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $122,500±$34kHighest 53% below SC $105,100±$24kLowest 59% below SC

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $731±$210Highest 38% below SC $677±$89Lowest 43% below SC

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $794Highest 37% below SC $712Lowest 43% below SC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 65.4%±20.4Highest SC: 52.1% 14.5%±8Lowest SC: 52.1%

Below poverty line 31.4%Highest SC: 14.1% 30.5%Lowest SC: 14.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 50.5%Lowest SC: 71.9% 54.6%Highest SC: 71.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1966Lowest 26 yrs older than SC 1981Highest 11 yrs older than SC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 30 minHighest 17% above SC 22 minLowest 15% below SC

Work from home 3.4%±3.1Highest SC: 11.5% 1%±1.8Lowest SC: 11.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 9.5%Lowest 10%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 28.8 miHighest 22.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.66Highest 0.54Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Augusta (6%)Aiken (11%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WillistonFew work in Edgefield

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.5%Highest 0%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.4 miLowest 1.3 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 mi 0.1 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 37.7Highest 29.2Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #93 of 141 in SC—

School district Edgefield 01Barnwell

High school in town None in townWilliston-Elko High

Students per teacherat that high school — 14.2

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.

Edgefield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Edgefield’s Town Square.

Williston neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Williston’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Edgefield and Williston

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Towns like Edgefield

+ Compare

Winnsboro3,322 people · $132K homes

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Abbeville4,872 people · $106K homes

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Dillon6,354 people · $116K homes

+ Compare

Walhalla4,157 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.

Edgefield vs Williston

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $420 more a month in Edgefield

Williston places higher on 10 of 17 SC lists

What daily life feels like in each

39 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Edgefield and Williston

Towns like Edgefield

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