Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Laurens grades D overall, 143rd among South Carolina's 167 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its police reported 79 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 95% of U.S. towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 83% of the country. It also has a long history, with 17 places on the National Register. Laurens’ violent crime rate is 8.5 per 1,000 residents, above both the South Carolina town median (3.9) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Its National Register listings include Laurens County Courthouse and Octagon House. Laurens's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Laurens beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Laurens County Courthouse
Census counts: 429 in 1860, 9,335 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1838.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Laurens is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Laurens, 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 Laurens.
Laurens trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the South Carolina rate.
Violent crime runs at 8.5 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.
Laurens’ property crime rate is 31 per 1,000 residents. Laurens reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less. Within South Carolina, it does better than 34% of towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Laurens 55 school district. One of its 4 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 465 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Against the 5,492 U.S. towns with household incomes like Laurens’s, it is less healthy than 55%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults have diabetes in Laurens. Laurens beats the South Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 13% of adults binge drink in Laurens.
| Laurens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 28% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Laurens | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.5% | 15.7% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 24.6% | 17.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $196K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles. At 2.8 years of the Greenville metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $196K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Laurens home is worth about $196,000, about the same as a year ago, 36% below the South Carolina typical home. 46% of Laurens households own their home.
| Laurens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 46% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $833 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4.1 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center, 48 acres with 2.1 miles of trail.
| Laurens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center | 2.1 mi | 48 |
| 2. Little River Park | 0.2 mi | 22 |
| 3. Laurens City Park | 0.1 mi | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Laurens weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 219 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 79% of South Carolina places with climate records.
Laurens has mild winters and warm summers. The July high in Laurens is 91°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Laurens has about as many jobs (3,913) as working residents, but only 528 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Laurens for work: only 13% work in town. Jobs based in Laurens fell to 3,913 in 2023, 650 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Greenville (7%), Columbia (3%) and Fountain Inn (3%).
| Laurens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Laurens
About 3 of every 100 Laurens residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
16 places in Laurens on the National Register of Historic Places.
26 notable people were born in Laurens.
City in South Carolina, United States
Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Laurens had a population of 9,335. It is the county seat of Laurens County. It is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Laurens.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens | #143 | D | B+ | D | C− | C− |
| Watts Mills | — | — | A | — | C− | D− |
Watts Mills has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Watts Mills reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Laurens with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Laurens grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #143 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades C− for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 34% of towns.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
26 notable people were born here, including Pink Anderson and Reverend Gary Davis.
