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Place dossier plate
SheetSC-WEST-PELZER-SC · West Pelzer, SC 1,276 pop · income 24th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around West Pelzer
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Pelzer on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Buffalo · lowest
21,831
Buffalo · lowest
21,831 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #1
West Pelzer · this city
53,125
West Pelzer · this city
53,125 median HH income
55.3% of the leader · rank #2
Ninilchik · near
53,125
Ninilchik · near
53,125 median HH income
55.3% of the leader · rank #3
Subiaco · near
53,125
Subiaco · near
53,125 median HH income
55.3% of the leader · rank #4
Eckley · near
53,125
Eckley · near
53,125 median HH income
55.3% of the leader · rank #5
Campbellton · near
53,125
Campbellton · near
53,125 median HH income
55.3% of the leader · rank #6
Meggett · highest
96,032
Meggett · highest
96,032 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for West Pelzer on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,276.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, West Pelzer places in the 24th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
24th
percentile, household income
20th
percentile, home value
46th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: West Pelzer, SC
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 1,276 residents in West Pelzer, a small town within South Carolina. Households in West Pelzer report a median income of $53,125 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 17.7%. Typical homes in West Pelzer are valued around $125,700, and the median resident age is 33.5 years. 18.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 60.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 1 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
Living costs in South Carolina run below the national norm: the state registers 93.7 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,155 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in South Carolina run around $224, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.7 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of West Pelzer's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to population change to housing and income to schools and households to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For West Pelzer, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in West Pelzer?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 82.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Is West Pelzer growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +71 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +7.3% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
How far does income reach against housing in West Pelzer?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 17.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for West Pelzer?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within South Carolina, the closest population matches are Edmund (1,274 residents, $35,750 income); Meggett (1,274 residents, $96,032 income); Latta (1,301 residents, $45,500 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Redway, CA (1,276 residents); Greenfield, MO (1,276 residents); Highlands, NC (1,276 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for West Pelzer?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 18.3% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
17.7%
Bachelor's degree+
18.3%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, South Carolina average
F
City profile score · West Pelzer, SC
35/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B
93.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$53,125
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
17.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
West Pelzer profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 70/100 (B) · 93.7 index
Bachelor's+ share: 29/100 (F) · 18.3%
Household income: 24/100 (F) · $53,125
Poverty rate: 18/100 (F) · 17.7%
How does West Pelzer compare to other US cities?
Here's how West Pelzer stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income24% higher than other cities
Home value20% pricier than other cities
Median rent46% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares West Pelzer against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to South Carolina only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
South Carolina-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places West Pelzer near the bottom of South Carolina's cities
Among the 441 South Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Pelzer ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Pelzer only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#188 of 403
53rd percentile in South Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 441
0th percentile in South Carolina
Median Home Value
#248 of 404
38th percentile in South Carolina
Poverty Rate
#155 of 439
64th percentile in South Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#222 of 441
50th percentile in South Carolina
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within South Carolina only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
24th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How West Pelzer's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$125,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 80% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
West Pelzer's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,314 of 15,516
More affordable than 79% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,033 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, West Pelzer sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,314 of 15,516 and #3,033 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$53,125West Pelzer, SC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context West Pelzer, SC median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for West Pelzer, SC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,276
Median Income
$53,125
Median Home Value
$125,700
Median Age
33.5
Poverty Rate
17.7%
Labor force participation
60.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.3%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
West Pelzer's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
967 residents
2021
982 residents
2022
996 residents
2023
1,014 residents
2024
1,026 residents
2025
1,038 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
82.6%
Carpool
7.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.5%
Work from Home
5.5%
Based on 568 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
South Carolina statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $224
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across South Carolina at $224 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are South Carolina statewide averages, not a meter reading for West Pelzer. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
South Carolina's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.7 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around West Pelzer is $1,155/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to South Carolina statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.7 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a South Carolina statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county West Pelzer sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Pelzer compares to similar-size South Carolina cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.