Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall it grades C+, 73rd of 167 graded towns in South Carolina. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 68% of South Carolina towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $380K, 4.5 years of the Charleston metro’s $85K median household income. Summerville’s average trip to work is 31 minutes, against 24 minutes in South Carolina’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Middleton Place and Ashley River Road.
Where Summerville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Middleton Place
Chuck Eidson43,392 counted in 2010 and 50,915 in 2020; an estimated 53,177 in 2025.
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 Summerville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Middleton Place is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,371 in 1880, 50,915 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 5 maps from 1920 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Summerville, 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 Summerville.
Summerville has added a third more jobs in ten years, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly earthquakes) and has property taxes 1.6 times the South Carolina norm.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $857 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 82 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 17 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1980, 82 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Summerville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Dorchester 02 school district. Two of its 16 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newington ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 862 | B |
| Summerville HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,361 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
13 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Pine Trace Park, at 305 acres.
| Summerville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gahagan Park | 0.4 mi | 36 |
| 2. Doty Park | 0.4 mi | 9 |
| 3. Pine Trace Park | — | 305 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $1,946, against $1,251 across South Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Summerville’s median rent is $1,526 a month. The typical Summerville home is worth about $380,000, down 0.6% in a year, 25% above the South Carolina typical home.
| Summerville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,526 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Summerville has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Summerville is 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 14,298 in 2013 to 18,777.
Most working residents leave Summerville for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based in Summerville grew to 18,777 in 2023, 4,479 more than in 2013. 10% of Summerville residents live below the poverty line.
| Summerville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 8.6% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Summerville's reported crime rate is below South Carolina's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 116 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Summerville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 17.7 per 1,000 residents | 27.7 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 4.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the South Carolina average. 34% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Summerville. Summerville has grown 4.6% since 2020, to 53,177 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Summerville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 23% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.5 points). Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.2, men 37.9.
| Summerville | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.8% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.5% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.6% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.4% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.4% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.6% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Summerville beats the South Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Summerville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 21% | 14% |
| What stands out | Summerville | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 3.6% | 3.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Summerville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi MuseumH. L. Hunley
Big draw22 mi MuseumUSS Yorktown
22 mi MuseumUSS Laffey
21 mi Park & preserveAngel Oak
26 mi LandmarkFort Wagner
22 mi DamThe BatteryH. L. Hunley: Sepia wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1902, after a painting then held by the Con, Public domain · USS Yorktown: David Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · USS Laffey: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Angel Oak: Galen Parks Smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Wagner: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · The Battery: Eagledj, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Summerville
About 5 of every 100 Summerville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as South Carolina.
5.7% of the town is conserved land, across 9 parks and preserves.
5 places in Summerville on the National Register of Historic Places.
28 notable people were born in Summerville.
Town in South Carolina, United States
Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston Counties. It lies about 5 miles from the Ashley River. Its population was 50,915 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-most populous city in South Carolina. It is part of the Charleston metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Summerville.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerville | #73 | C+ | C | — | B+ | B− |
| Lincolnville | — | — | A | — | A | C+ |
| North Charleston | #106 | C | C+ | D− | A | B− |
Lincolnville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Summerville and Lincolnville report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Summerville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Summerville grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #73 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades B− for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk 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 C.
28 notable people were born here, including Chuck Eidson and Jonathan Amon.
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