Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fountain Inn is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, 38th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 85% of South Carolina towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $311K, 4.4 years of the Greenville metro’s $71K median household income. Only 18 of South Carolina’s 263 towns score higher on hazard risk. Fountain Inn's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Fountain Inn has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Tullyton and Fairview Presbyterian Church.
Where Fountain Inn beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Fountain Inn Elementary | PK–5 | 1,055 |
| Fountain Inn High | 9–12 | 1,551 |
Cannon BuildingCensus counts: 212 in 1890, 10,416 in 2020. The archive holds 19 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Fountain Inn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fountain Inn, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Fountain Inn.
Fountain Inn has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina.
On this, Fountain Inn is above South Carolina’s towns (0.3) and close to U.S. towns (0.4). 5.4 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Woodside Park, at 32 acres.
| Fountain Inn | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Woodside Park | 0.5 mi | 32 |
| 2. Country Gardens Greenway Park | — | 10 |
| 3. PD Terry City Park | 0.2 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Greenville 01 school district. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Fountain Inn High, with 1,551 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Inn ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,055 | B |
| Fountain Inn HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,551 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 90.1°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 76% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 32.8°.
Fountain Inn has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Fountain Inn’s January low is 33°F, near the South Carolina town median (34°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (22°F). The July high in Fountain Inn is 90°F.
| Fountain Inn | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 33°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 11% of residents (19% statewide); children under 18 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). Fountain Inn has grown 41% since 2020, to 14,722 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Fountain Inn’s median age is 35.2 years.
| Fountain Inn | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 28% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.2 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 23% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Fountain Inn | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 17.6% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.3% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.1% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.3% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.6% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.9% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.2% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Most working residents leave Fountain Inn for work: only 5% work in town. 7.7% of Fountain Inn residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Fountain Inn has added 537 jobs, to 4,118 in 2023.
| Fountain Inn | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 8.6% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 206 to 173 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 86% of towns.
| Fountain Inn | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.3 per 1,000 residents | 21.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Fountain Inn home is worth about $311,000, up 0.8% in a year, close to the South Carolina typical home. 75% of households own their home in Fountain Inn.
| Fountain Inn | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 75% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,184 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| What stands out | Fountain Inn | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.4% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 15.1% | 13.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fountain Inn. Close and well known come first.
36 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium, Clemson
40 mi LakeLake Hartwell
40 mi LakeLake Keowee
15 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
39 mi National Historic SiteNinety Six National Historic Site123K visitors a year
37 mi State parkTable Rock State ParkMemorial Stadium, Clemson: Caseyh at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Hartwell: blahedo, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lake Keowee: Inundated_38Oc1.jpg: Matthew T. Bradley from Berkshire County, Mass., USA deriva, CC BY 2.0 · Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 2.0 · Ninety Six National Historic Site: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Table Rock State Park: Clemson3564, CC BY 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fountain Inn
About 3 of every 100 Fountain Inn residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
7,799 counted in 2010 and 10,416 in 2020; an estimated 14,722 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 41.4% since 2020, after 33.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
8 places in Fountain Inn on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in South Carolina, United States
Fountain Inn is a city in Greenville and Laurens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 10,416 at the 2020 census, up from 7,799 in 2010. It is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Fountain Inn.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Inn | #38 | B | B− | B− | A | B− |
| Simpsonville | #47 | B | C+ | C− | A | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Fountain Inn grades B overall, better than 61% of U.S. towns and #38 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades B− for health, B− for safety and A for schools.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 86% of towns.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
2 notable people were born here, including Chris Patton and Peg Leg Bates.
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