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 DWilliamstonSafer than 13% of U.S. towns

Schools

A−PickensBetter than 77% of districts in the state A+WilliamstonBetter than 97% of districts in the state

Health

C+PickensHealthier than 40% of U.S. towns CWilliamstonHealthier than 25% of U.S. towns

11Pickens

8Williamston

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 148 towns #45#109 Best schoolsSchools · 141 towns #65#22 Lowest depressionHealth · 173 towns #116#162 Most walkableOutdoors · 173 towns #77#39 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 173 towns #57#92 Most educatedPeople · 173 towns #112#145 Highest graduation rateSchools · 160 towns #35#6 Highest incomeIncome · 172 towns #97#66

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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 →

Williamston$1,620/mo

Typical home $281K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.64% · or rent about $899/mo · Housing →

The difference: $50 a month, about $600 a year, between Williamston and Pickens.

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

PickensWilliamston

Snow a year1″1″

January low30°F 31°F

July high90°F 90°F

Growing season (days)216d 219d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)32nd 48th

Outdoors & history

PickensWilliamston

Trails1 mi 3 mi

Conserved land3.5%0.8%

Settled—1842

National Register places3 —

Archive photos10 —

Famous people born here10 5

Community

PickensWilliamston

Library hours a week49 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

23 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

PickensWilliamston

Pickens ↔ Williamston23 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

PickensWilliamston

People

Population 3,155Lowest 4,170Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +8.4%Highest SC: +10.7% +2.8%Lowest SC: +10.7%

Median age 40.6±10.2Highest about the SC average 38.9±2.9Lowest 3% below SC

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

Kids under 18 20.6%±5.7Highest SC: 21.4% 19.3%±5.1Lowest SC: 21.4%

Pickens and Williamston 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% 19%±5.4Highest SC: 18.9%

Williamston 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% 15.4%Lowest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.4%±2.4Lowest SC: 5.7% 4.8%±3.2Highest SC: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $55,000±$18kLowest 21% below SC $64,389±$12kHighest 7% below SC

Williamston and Pickens 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 $162,800±$12kLowest 37% below SC

Rentmedian gross, monthly $828±$117Lowest 30% below SC $899±$119Highest 24% below SC

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $894Lowest 29% below SC $1,045Highest 16% below SC

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 61.7%±9.8Highest SC: 52.1% 42.5%±18.4Lowest SC: 52.1%

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

Below poverty line 16.7%Highest SC: 14.1% 13.5%Lowest SC: 14.1%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 68%Highest SC: 71.9% 65%Lowest SC: 71.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1964Lowest 28 yrs older than SC 1970Highest 22 yrs older than SC

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 30 minHighest 16% above SC 27 minLowest 4% above SC

Work from home 1.9%±2.2Lowest SC: 11.5% 4.1%±4Highest SC: 11.5%

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

Work in townworking residents 6%Lowest 8.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 17.8 miHighest 15.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.30Lowest 1.44Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Greenville (14%)Greenville (13%)

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.5%Highest 0.8%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.9 miLowest 3.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 miLowest 0.8 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 63.0Lowest 75.0Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #65 of 141 in SC #22 of 141 in SC

School district Pickens 01Anderson 80 · Anderson 01

High school in town Pickens HighPalmetto High

Students per teacherat that high school 14.6Lowest 18.3Highest

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 →

T Weaver · 1w

Pickens History and Change

1 neighbor in Pickens can answer.

Williamston neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Williamston’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Pickens and Williamston

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

Towns like Pickens

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Westminster2,521 people · $178K homes

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Ninety Six2,521 people · $121K homes

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Inman3,166 people · $193K homes

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Varnville2,571 people · $116K 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.

Pickens vs Williamston

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Pickens places higher on 11 of 20 SC lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

23 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Pickens History and Change

Set another town beside Pickens and Williamston

Towns like Pickens

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