Williamston, SC

The affordability dashboard for Williamston, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 12,207 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $68,764, median home value of $206,000, median rent of $1,022 per month, and 19.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,173 per month (studio $1,022, 1BR $1,035, 3BR $1,519, 4BR $1,849). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,344 per year, consuming 15% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Williamston, SC include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 3.9% and poverty 11.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.