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%

Williston$880/mo

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

Edgefield$1,290/mo

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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

10Williston

5Edgefield

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

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

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

WillistonEdgefield

Snow a year1″1″

January low35°F —

July high93°F —

Growing season (days)232d —

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

Outdoors & history

WillistonEdgefield

Trails1 mi —

Conserved land0%—

National Register places1 2

Archive photos—14

Famous people born here—24

Community

WillistonEdgefield

Library hours a week26 hrs 43 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.

WillistonSC EdgefieldSC

Williston ↔ Edgefield39 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

WillistonEdgefield

People

Population 2,870Lowest 4,010Highest

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

Median age 40.4±13.9Highest about the SC average 40±1.8Lowest 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 25.9%±6.7Highest SC: 21.4% 13.1%±4Lowest SC: 21.4%

Age 65+ 18.6%±6.1Highest SC: 18.9% 11.4%±2.8Lowest 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+ 18.6%Highest SC: 32.1% 13.5%Lowest SC: 32.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.8%±1.5Lowest SC: 5.7% 4.3%±2.4Highest 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 $39,484±$8kLowest 43% below SC $39,688±$18kHighest 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 $105,100±$24kLowest 59% below SC $122,500±$34kHighest 53% 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 $677±$89Lowest 43% below SC $731±$210Highest 38% 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 $712Lowest 43% below SC $794Highest 37% below SC

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

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

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 1%±1.8Lowest SC: 11.5% 3.4%±3.1Highest 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 10%Highest 9.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 22.8 miLowest 28.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in EdgefieldFew work in Williston

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 3.5%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 1.3 miHighest 0.4 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 mi 0.1 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district BarnwellEdgefield 01

High school in town Williston-Elko HighNone in town

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.

Williston neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Williston’s Town Square.

Edgefield neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Edgefield’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Williston

+ Compare

Winnsboro3,322 people · $132K homes

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St. George2,154 people · $114K homes

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Allendale2,653 people · $87K homes

+ Compare

McCormick2,506 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.

Williston vs Edgefield

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 Williston and Edgefield

Towns like Williston

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