Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 20,898, settled in 2015. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Wade Hampton is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 5th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina. Its schools rank ahead of 85% of South Carolina towns and it is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. 46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wade Hampton, above both the South Carolina town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Woodside Cotton Mill Village Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Wade Hampton is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 73% of U.S. towns.
Where Wade Hampton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest Elementary | PK–5 | 829 |
| Pelham Road Elementary | K–5 | 757 |
| Mitchell Road Elementary | PK–5 | 569 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Wade Hampton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 maps from 1938 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wade Hampton. Close and well known come first.
32 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium, Clemson
4 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
32 mi LakeLake Keowee
34 mi LakeLake Jocassee
39 mi LandmarkPeachoid
26 mi Park & preserveDuPont State ForestMemorial Stadium, Clemson: Caseyh at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Keowee: Inundated_38Oc1.jpg: Matthew T. Bradley from Berkshire County, Mass., USA deriva, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Jocassee: Clemson3564, Public domain · Peachoid: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · DuPont State Forest: Ccalvin, CC BY-SA 3.0
Wade Hampton is unincorporated, so Greenville 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Wade Hampton.
Wade Hampton has hotter summers 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 Greenville 01 school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 829 | B− |
| Wade Hampton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,790 | A+ |
| Pelham Road ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 757 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
9.8% of adults smoke cigarettes in Wade Hampton. Wade Hampton beats the South Carolina average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Wade Hampton.
| Wade Hampton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 15% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 37% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Wade Hampton | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.5% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.4% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 89.3°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 90% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 32.4°.
Wade Hampton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Wade Hampton is 32°F. About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Wade Hampton | 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
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 136 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wade Hampton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Wade Hampton for work: only 5% work in town. 7.2% of Wade Hampton residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Greenville (33%), Mauldin (3%) and Greer (3%).
| Wade Hampton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 8.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Just 31 of its 5,619 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Wade Hampton itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
1.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Wade Hampton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Butler Springs Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Wellington Green Community Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of Wade Hampton
About 3 of every 100 Wade Hampton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Wade Hampton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 20,622 at the 2010 census. It is named for American Civil War general and South Carolina governor Wade Hampton. Wade Hampton is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Wade Hampton.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wade Hampton | #5 | A | B− | — | A | A− |
| Greenville | #71 | C+ | D | D | A | A− |
| Taylors | #20 | A− | B− | — | A | A− |
Wade Hampton and Taylors report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wade Hampton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Wade Hampton grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #5 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades A− for health and A for schools.
The typical home is worth about $339,000, 11% above the South Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
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