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%

Pickens$1,570/mo

Typical home $280K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.44% · or rent about $828/mo · Housing →

Westminster$1,280/mo

Typical home $225K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.53% · or rent about $715/mo · Housing →

The difference: $290 a month, about $3,500 a year, between Pickens and Westminster.

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

Pickens places higher on 15 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

DPickensSafer than 10% of U.S. towns –WestminsterNot graded

Schools

A−PickensBetter than 77% of districts in the state B+WestminsterBetter than 70% of districts in the state

Health

C+PickensHealthier than 40% of U.S. towns DWestminsterHealthier than 12% of U.S. towns

15Pickens

4Westminster

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

Most conserved landOutdoors · 148 towns #45#148 Shortest commuteGetting around · 173 towns #152#57 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 173 towns #57#120 Fewest smokersHealth · 173 towns #80#141 Most activeHealth · 173 towns #69#126 HealthiestHealth · 173 towns #81#137 Fastest growingGrowth · 157 towns #68#116 Lowest depressionHealth · 173 towns #116#162

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

PickensWestminster

Snow a year1″2″

January low30°F 29°F

July high90°F 89°F

Growing season (days)216d 203d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)32nd 27th

Outdoors & history

PickensWestminster

Trails1 mi —

Conserved land3.5%—

National Register places3 2

Archive photos15 —

Famous people born here10 —

Community

PickensWestminster

Library hours a week49 hrs 38 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

26 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

PickensWestminster

Pickens ↔ Westminster26 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

PickensWestminster

People

Population 3,155Highest 2,521Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.4%Highest SC: +10.7% -2.7%Lowest SC: +10.7%

Median age 40.6±10.2Highest about the SC average 40±17.4Lowest about the SC average

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

Kids under 18 20.6%±5.7Lowest SC: 21.4% 22%±4.4Highest SC: 21.4%

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

Age 65+ 17.8%±4.6Lowest SC: 18.9% 26.4%±8.5Highest SC: 18.9%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 19.8%Highest SC: 32.1% 18.7%Lowest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.4%±2.4Highest SC: 5.7% 2.3%±1.4Lowest SC: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $55,000±$18kHighest 21% below SC $40,946±$20kLowest 41% below SC

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $204,100±$23kHighest 21% below SC $178,100±$24kLowest 31% below SC

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $828±$117Highest 30% below SC $715±$267Lowest 39% below SC

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $894Lowest 29% below SC $942Highest 25% below SC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 61.7%±9.8Highest SC: 52.1% 54.2%±18.8Lowest SC: 52.1%

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

Below poverty line 16.7%Lowest SC: 14.1% 21.3%Highest SC: 14.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 68%Highest SC: 71.9% 67.9%Lowest SC: 71.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1964Lowest 28 yrs older than SC 1969Highest 23 yrs older than SC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 30 minHighest 16% above SC 22 minLowest 14% below SC

Work from home 1.9%±2.2Highest SC: 11.5% 0.8%±1.2Lowest SC: 11.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 6%Highest 2.8%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.8 miHighest 15.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.30Highest 0.41Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Greenville (14%)Walhalla (5%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WestminsterFew work in Pickens

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.5%Highest 0.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 63.0Highest 60.1Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #65 of 141 in SC #98 of 141 in SC

School district Pickens 01Oconee 01

High school in town Pickens HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 14.6 —

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.

Pickens neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Pickens can answer.

Westminster neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Westminster’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Pickens and Westminster

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

Towns like Pickens

+ Compare

Williamston4,170 people · $163K homes

+ Compare

Ninety Six2,521 people · $121K homes

+ Compare

Inman3,166 people · $193K homes

+ Compare

Varnville2,571 people · $116K 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.

Pickens vs Westminster

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $290 more a month in Pickens

Pickens places higher on 15 of 19 SC lists

What daily life feels like in each

26 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Pickens and Westminster

Towns like Pickens

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