Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kingstree grades D− overall, ranked 161st of 167 in South Carolina, mostly because of safety and incomes. Its police reported 26 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. The median household income is $26K, and 34% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Kingstree, against 17% in South Carolina’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Kingstree is home to Williamsburg Technical College. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Kingstree beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
ThorntreeWhere Kingstree’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Kingstree is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 1%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 384 in 1880, 3,244 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1825 and 3 maps from 1946 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kingstree, 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 Kingstree.
Kingstree carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes), but it reports violent crime at about twice the South Carolina rate and is a long drive from an emergency room.
Violent crime runs at 8.6 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 104.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 83% of South Carolina’s graded towns.
Kingstree reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less. The violent crime rate in Kingstree is 8.6 per 1,000 residents. Only 7 of the 90 South Carolina towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Kingstree.
| Kingstree | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 51.8 per 1,000 residents | 21.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Williamsburg 01 school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Kingstree High, with 681 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.M. Anderson PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 364 | – |
| Kingstree HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 681 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
At 2.5 years of the county’s $46K median household income, the typical home (about $115K) costs less against local pay than in 82% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living. The typical value, about $115K, is 13% below its April 2025 peak.
Kingstree’s median rent is $546 a month. Typical home values fell 4.6% in the year to September 2026. 48% of Kingstree households own their home.
| Kingstree | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $546 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2,104 jobs are based in Kingstree, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
16% of working residents work locally in Kingstree. Jobs based in Kingstree fell to 2,104 in 2023, 293 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Florence (6%), Charleston (3%) and North Charleston (3%).
| Kingstree | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $26,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The nearest emergency room, Mcleod Health Clarendon, is 22 miles away in a straight line. Against the 285 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kingstree’s, it is healthier than 76%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Kingstree beats the South Carolina average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 5 have a lower share of adults who binge drink than Kingstree.
| Kingstree | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 49% | 40% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 21% | 14% |
| What stands out | Kingstree | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.9% | 15.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.5% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 30.5% | 17.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of South Carolina towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2010, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kingstree.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Kingstree has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 35° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is J. Russell Kellahan Memorial Recreation Center, at 36 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J. Russell Kellahan Memorial Recreation Center | 0.1 mi | 36 |
| 2. Kellahan Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Kingstree
About 1 of every 100 Kingstree residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
5 places in Kingstree on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Kingstree.
City in South Carolina, United States
Kingstree is a city in and the county seat of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,328 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kingstree grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #161 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
19 notable people were born here, including Joseph L. Goldstein and Maxine Brown.
