Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Hartsville grades D overall, 144th among South Carolina's 167 graded towns, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 74 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $49K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 24 places on the National Register. Hartsville’s violent crime rate is 10.1 per 1,000 residents, against 3.9 in South Carolina’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Coker Experimental Farms and James L. Coker III House.
Where Hartsville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Coker Experimental Farms
Coker Experimental Farms is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 342 in 1890, 7,446 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and a map from 1986 on.
24 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Hartsville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hartsville, 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 Hartsville.
Hartsville draws workers from North Hartsville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the South Carolina rate.
Violent crime runs at 10.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the South Carolina rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. At 112.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 83% of South Carolina’s graded towns.
Hartsville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less. The property crime rate in Hartsville is 45.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Darlington 01 school district. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartsville MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 801 | C− |
| Hartsville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,129 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
7,006 jobs are based in Hartsville, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 4 of Hartsville’s working residents works in town. 4.9% of Hartsville workers work from home. Since 2013, Hartsville has added 404 jobs, to 7,006 in 2023.
| Hartsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Work from home | 4.9% | 8.8% | 11% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,511 U.S. towns with household incomes like Hartsville’s, it is less healthy than 63%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Hartsville beats the South Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 44% of adults have obesity in Hartsville.
| Hartsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 21% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Hartsville | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.3% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 27.4% | 17.4% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 13.3% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Hartsville home is worth about $186,000, up 10.1% in a year, 39% below the South Carolina typical home. Hartsville’s median rent is $874 a month.
| Hartsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $874 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 62% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Hartsville has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 33° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Children under 18 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Carolina.
| Hartsville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 35.3 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 17% | 18% |
56% women, 44% men
About 79 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.3 points). Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Hartsville | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.9% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.6% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.7% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.8% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.8% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.3% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 2015, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hartsville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Byerly Park, at 77 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Byerly Park | — | 77 |
| 2. Kalmia Gardens | — | 26 |
| 3. Lawton Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hartsville
About 10 of every 100 Hartsville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Where Hartsville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
24 places in Hartsville on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Hartsville.
City in South Carolina, United States
Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. As of the 2020 census, Hartsville had a population of 7,446. By Zip code (City Data and South Carolina Demographics) the population of Greater Hartsville is approximately 30,000. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Hartsville has also been a National Arbor Day Foundation Tree City since 1986. Hartsville is home of Coker University and a branch of Florence–Darlington Technical College. It is also the home of the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, a public boarding high school. The city is served by the Hartsv…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Hartsville.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartsville | #144 | D | C+ | D− | B− | D |
| North Hartsville | #109 | C | A− | — | B− | C− |
North Hartsville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Hartsville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Hartsville grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #144 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D for health, D− for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($54,443 across the Florence, SC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
18 notable people were born here, including Shannon Johnson and Chad Dawson.
