Oak GroveSC
A town of 12,256.
Is Oak Grove a good place to live?
Oak Grove gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $240K for a typical one, or 3.5 years of the Columbia metro’s $68K median household income. It grades A− overall, 18th among South Carolina's 167 graded towns. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 10 have a higher July high than Oak Grove. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 72% of U.S. towns.
What makes Oak Grove stand out
Where Oak Grove beats most towns.
Typical home value
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Oak Grove Elementary | PK–5 | 691 |
| Oakwood Christian Academy | 3–8 | 4 |
Oak Grove has grown 25% from 2010 to 2020
10,291 counted in 2010 and 12,899 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Oak Grove grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Oak Grove is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Oak Grove: who provides what
Oak Grove is unincorporated, so Lexington County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Oak Grove.
Oak Grove pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the South Carolina norm and sends most of its workers to Columbia and beyond.
Most working residents commute out of Oak Grove
Oak Grove has 1,551 jobs for its 5,750 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Oak Grove for work: only 1% work in town. Oak Grove’s average trip to work is 22 minutes, below both the South Carolina town median (24 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Since 2013, Oak Grove has added 166 jobs, to 1,551 in 2023.
| Oak Grove | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Public schools in Oak Grove beat 72% of South Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by the Lexington 01 school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Grove ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 691 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Oak Grove earns an A− for cost of living
Oak Grove grades A− overall with a typical home of about $240K, below the South Carolina typical value; only 4 of the 10 South Carolina towns graded A− or better can say that.
81% of households own their home in Oak Grove, above both South Carolina’s towns (65%) and U.S. towns (73%). The typical Oak Grove home is worth about $240,000, up 1.9% in a year, 21% below the South Carolina typical home.
| Oak Grove | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,045 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mild winters and hot summers in Oak Grove
Oak Grove has mild winters and hot summers. Oak Grove’s January low is 35°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Oak Grove ranks healthier than 57% of the country’s towns
Oak Grove beats the South Carolina average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 29% of adults feel lonely in Oak Grove.
| Oak Grove | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 23% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 38% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 80% | 79% |
| What stands out | Oak Grove | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.8% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 12% | 13.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
An age mix much like South Carolina’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the South Carolina average. 25% of Oak Grove residents are under 18. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Carolina.
| Oak Grove | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 37 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 17% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.0, men 36.0.
| Oak Grove | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.9% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.7% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.6% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.9% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.1% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.4% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Moderate risk in Oak Grove, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Oak Grove since 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Conserved land covers 1.2% of Oak Grove
0.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Oak Grove is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Oak Grove | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oak Grove Softball Complex | — | 16 |
| 2. Pineview DYB | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Williams-Brice Stadium and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Grove. Close and well known come first.
8 mi Stadium & arenaWilliams-Brice Stadium
19 mi National ParkCongaree National Park288K visitors a year
12 mi LakeLake Murray12 mi LakeAlcohol and Drug Abuse Lake
7 mi Stadium & arenaColonial Life Arena
5 mi Zoo & aquariumRiverbanks ZooPhoto credits
Williams-Brice Stadium: SRA MARVIN PRESTON, Public domain · Congaree National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Lake Murray: Greygh0st at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Colonial Life Arena: Dfscgt21, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Riverbanks Zoo: Carlo Giovannetti (Thief12), CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Oak Grove
Colleges nearby
7 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Grove
About 4 of every 100 Oak Grove residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
99% of working residents leave Oak Grove for work
Where Oak Grove’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Oak Grove
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Oak Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 10,291 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.8 sq mi
Oak Grove’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Oak Grove.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Grove | #18 | A− | A− | — | B+ | B |
| West Columbia | #131 | D | B− | D− | C | B− |
| Springdale | #125 | C− | B− | D | C | C |
Oak Grove reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Oak Grove with a neighbor →
Questions about Oak Grove
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Oak Grove, SC a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Oak Grove grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #18 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades B for health and B+ for schools.
Is Oak Grove, SC expensive?
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 A−.