AlcoluSC
A town of 459, settled in 1880.
Is Alcolu a good place to live?
45% of residents live below the poverty line in Alcolu, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Among 170 South Carolina towns, just 9 have a lower average commute than Alcolu. Alcolu has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
459 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Alcolu: who provides what
Alcolu is unincorporated, so Clarendon County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Alcolu.
More children than South Carolina overall
Children under 18 are 52% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 16% of residents (38% statewide). 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Carolina.
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±8.2 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Alcolu | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 42% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.7% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 2.8% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 29% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.9% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.1% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 1.4% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.6% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.1% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 500, single groups can be off by several points
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mother Geneva Johnson Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–10 | Grades PK–10 | 6 | – |
NCES · EDFacts
Homes in Alcolu are worth about $170K, by Zillow’s estimate
Typical home values fell 4.1% in the year to September 2026. For households in Alcolu, the share who live in a home they own is 70%.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The biggest natural risk in Alcolu is hurricanes, at a very high overall level
Alcolu’s FEMA risk score comes in at 83 of 100. FEMA puts 53% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to hurricanes, and 13% to inland flooding. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2016.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Alcolu has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Alcolu rose by 32, to 51. The top destinations are Sumter (16%), Manning (14%) and Columbia (4%).
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Alcolu, expect mild winters and hot summers
July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Alcolu is
In Alcolu, a third of adults get no exercise outside work. This South Carolina town does better than the South Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 18. 47% of adults in the town have high blood pressure; 26% worry about having enough food.
| Alcolu | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 40% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 21% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Alcolu | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.7% | 80.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.7% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Alcolu
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Alcolu
About 1 of every 100 Alcolu residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
100% of working residents leave Alcolu for work
Where Alcolu’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Alcolu
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Alcolu is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 402. Alcolu has a post office with ZIP code 29001, which opened on August 17, 1888. It developed as a lumber and mill town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 4.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 125 ft
- ZIP code
- 29001
Questions about Alcolu
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Alcolu, SC a good place to live?
Alcolu has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.