Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,103, settled in 1924. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Trash & recyclingLyman is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 31st of 167 graded towns in South Carolina, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 82% of South Carolina towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $76K. A typical home there costs about $304K, 4.7 years of the Spartanburg metro’s $64K median household income. Only 8 of South Carolina’s 107 towns score higher on safety. Lyman's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Lyman has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them McMakin's Tavern.
Where Lyman beats most towns.
3,243 counted in 2010 and 6,173 in 2020; an estimated 7,103 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 16.2% since 2020, after 90.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Lyman is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,261 in 1960, 6,173 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1938 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lyman. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
27 mi LandmarkPeachoid
33 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
21 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
30 mi Park & preserveDuPont State Forest
27 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a yearBon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 2.0 · Peachoid: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Chimney Rock State Park: Jmturner, Public domain · Cowpens National Battlefield: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · DuPont State Forest: Ccalvin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: Victoria Stauffenberg, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lyman, 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 Lyman.
Lyman fares better on crime within South Carolina than nationally and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina; it also has little public open land.
Its public schools are run by the Spartanburg 05 school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyman ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 750 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Lyman for work: only 2% work in town. 6.1% of Lyman residents live below the poverty line, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Since 2013, Lyman has lost 73 jobs, to 1,317 in 2023.
| Lyman | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 13% | 8.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 10% of residents (19% statewide). At 32.6 years, Lyman’s median age is below both the South Carolina town median (38.9 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Lyman has grown 16% since 2020, to 7,103 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Lyman | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.6 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 10% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 23% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Lyman | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16.4% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 22.3% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.3% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.5% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.6% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.9% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.6% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The Greer weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 48 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 86% of South Carolina places with climate records. July afternoons average 89.1°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 92% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 32.1°.
Lyman has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Lyman’s January low is 32°F. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Lyman | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 32°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 13.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of South Carolina’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Lyman is 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Lyman | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.7 per 1,000 residents | 21.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lyman beats the South Carolina average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 25% of Lyman adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Lyman | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 78% | 80% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 12% |
| What stands out | Lyman | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 12.2% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6% | 6.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Just 3 of its 4,762 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Lyman itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lyman Park | — | 5 |
| 2. Lake Cooley Park and Outdoor Education Center | — | 1 |
| 3. Veterans Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
92% of households own their home in Lyman. The typical Lyman home is worth about $304,000, up 1.6% in a year, close to the South Carolina typical home.
| Lyman | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 92% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,081 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of Lyman
About 4 of every 100 Lyman residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Where Lyman’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Lyman.
Town in South Carolina, United States
Lyman is a town in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. Its population was 6,173 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lyman.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lyman grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #31 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades C+ for health, B for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
4 notable people were born here, including Daniel Gossett and Chas Dodd.
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