DentsvilleSC
Today 15,209 people live in this town, first settled in 1901.
Is Dentsville a good place to live?
At C+ overall, Dentsville is better than 44% of U.S. towns and ranks 69th of 167 in South Carolina. Where it falls short is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind just over three quarters of the country. It lags on incomes as well: the median household income is $45K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. Its strongest subject is walkability: it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Schools are another plus (B+) — its public schools beat 73% of South Carolina towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $164K, 2.4 years of the Columbia metro’s $68K median household income. 39% of households are owner-occupiers in the town, below both the South Carolina town median (65%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The town’s July high is 93°F, above both South Carolina’s towns (91°F) and U.S. towns (85°F).
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
What makes Dentsville stand out
Where Dentsville beats most towns.
How Dentsville grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Dentsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Dentsville: who provides what
Dentsville is unincorporated, so Richland 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 Dentsville.
Dentsville is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has little public open land.
More of Dentsville’s adults sleep under 7 hours than in the typical South Carolina or U.S. town
Against the 4,170 U.S. towns with household incomes like Dentsville’s, it is healthier than 65%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
In Dentsville, 37% of adults feel lonely. The town does better than the South Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 15. 18% of adults locally have diabetes; 27% worry about having enough food.
| Dentsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 38% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 21% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 40% | 35% |
| What stands out | Dentsville | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 8.6% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.3% | 15.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Dentsville earns a B+ for schools
Its public schools are run by the Richland 02 school district. One of its 5 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is SC Whitmore School, with 431 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| E. L. Wright MiddleLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 1,275 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Top of a low hazard risk in Dentsville: inland flooding
Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 77% of U.S. communities. Flood insurance has paid out on 8 claims in Dentsville since 2006. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 40% come from inland flooding and 18% from earthquakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in three of Dentsville’s working residents commute to Columbia
Jobs based in Dentsville fell to 7,265 in 2023, 1,023 fewer than in 2013. Commuting out is the norm here: 4% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Columbia (30%), Woodfield (4%) and West Columbia (3%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 9 miles.
| Dentsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $45,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Conservation land takes up 0.5% of Dentsville
Just 21 of its 4,309 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Dentsville itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
1.2 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. For Dentsville, the trail network density is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Dentsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Richland County Tennis Center | 0.3 mi | 6 |
| 2. Sesquicentennial State Park | 0.1 mi | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Dentsville sell for about $173K
At 2.4 years of the Columbia metro’s $68K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 84% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living. 65.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 52.1% across South Carolina.
Homes sold in Dentsville spent a median 60 days on the market. Its rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,250 a month. In Dentsville, the typical sale closed at 96.2% of the list price.
| Dentsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 39% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,250 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Williams-Brice Stadium and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dentsville. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Stadium & arenaWilliams-Brice Stadium2 mi LakeAlcohol and Drug Abuse Lake
17 mi National ParkCongaree National Park288K visitors a year
21 mi LakeLake Murray
7 mi Stadium & arenaColonial Life Arena
8 mi Zoo & aquariumRiverbanks ZooPhoto credits
Williams-Brice Stadium: SRA MARVIN PRESTON, Public domain · Congaree National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Lake Murray: Greygh0st at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Colonial Life Arena: Dfscgt21, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Riverbanks Zoo: Carlo Giovannetti (Thief12), CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Dentsville
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Dentsville
About 6 of every 100 Dentsville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Carolina.
About Dentsville
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Dentsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,062 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 233 ft
Dentsville’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Dentsville.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Woodfield (C+) comes closest.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dentsville | #69 | C+ | C+ | — | B+ | C− |
| Columbia | #124 | C− | C | D | B | B− |
| Forest Acres | #103 | C | C | D | C | A |
| Woodfield | #85 | C+ | B− | — | B+ | C− |
| Arcadia Lakes | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Dentsville and Woodfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Arcadia Lakes isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Dentsville with a neighbor →
Questions about Dentsville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Dentsville, SC a good place to live?
Dentsville grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #69 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades C− for health and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Dentsville, SC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $164,000, 46% below the South Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.