Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Manning grades D overall, ranked 145th of 167 in South Carolina, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 100% of U.S. towns, with 49 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns. Manning’s violent crime rate is 12.8 per 1,000 residents, above both South Carolina’s towns (3.9) and U.S. towns (1.6). No town among the 90 in South Carolina we compare has a higher property crime rate than Manning. Manning has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Manning Library and Davis House.
Where Manning beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Manning LibraryWhere Manning’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 Manning is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,069 in 1890, 3,878 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1921 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Manning, 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 Manning.
Manning trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the South Carolina rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
Violent crime runs at 12.8 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the South Carolina rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes rose from 253 to 345 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Manning reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 100% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Clarendon 06 school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Manning High, with 741 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manning Early Childhood CenterLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 667 | – |
| Manning HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 741 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests
Against the 443 U.S. towns with household incomes like Manning’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
23% of adults have diabetes in Manning. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Manning. 43% of adults have obesity in Manning.
| Manning | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 15% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 28% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 40% | 35% |
| What stands out | Manning | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 15.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.1% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3,119 jobs are based in Manning, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
The median household income in Manning is $29,000. Since 2013, Manning has added 458 jobs, to 3,119 in 2023. 18% of Manning residents live below the poverty line.
| Manning | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $29,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 17% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of South Carolina towns; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Manning’s FEMA risk score is 82 of 100. Since 2015, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Manning.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes are within reach (about $217K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles. The typical value, about $217K, is 12% below its July 2022 peak.
The typical Manning home is worth about $217,000, down 1.8% in a year, 29% below the South Carolina typical home. Only 3 of the 166 South Carolina towns we compare have a lower median rent than Manning.
| Manning | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $594 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 54% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Manning has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
None within 15 miles of Manning; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Manning residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
5 places in Manning on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Manning.
City in South Carolina, United States
Manning is a city in and the county seat of Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Manning had a population of 3,878. It was named after former South Carolina governor John Laurence Manning.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Manning grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #145 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 4.1 years of the area's median household income ($52,401 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
10 notable people were born here, including Darren Robinson and Peggy Parish.
