Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Williston grades D overall, 139th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $39K, and 30% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. In its favor, homes are within reach, about $151K for a typical one, or 3.2 years of the county’s $47K median household income. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Williston, above both South Carolina’s towns (17%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Williston's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 97% of U.S. towns. Williston's police reported 18 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 95% of U.S. towns.
Where Williston beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Williston’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 Williston is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 85% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 3%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 426 in 1880, 2,877 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 3 maps from 1927 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Williston, 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 Williston.
Williston trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it is a long drive from an emergency room and has poverty well above the South Carolina rate.
The nearest emergency room, Aiken Regional Medical Center, is 23.2 miles away in a straight line. Against the 2,238 U.S. towns with household incomes like Williston’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
20% of Williston adults have diabetes. Williston beats the South Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 45% of Williston adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Williston | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 15% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 21% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 40% | 35% |
| What stands out | Williston | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.2% | 15.7% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.8% | 80.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.7% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Barnwell school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Edwards ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 296 | – |
| Williston-Elko HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 192 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Property crime runs at 34.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the South Carolina rate, most of it theft.
Williston’s property crime rate is 34.4 per 1,000 residents. Williston reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less. Williston’s violent crime rate is 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Williston | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 34.4 per 1,000 residents | 21.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 3.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $151K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 23 miles. The typical value, about $151K, is 23% below its June 2022 peak.
The median rent in Williston is $677 a month. Typical home values fell 5.6% in the year to September 2026. 55% of households own their home in Williston.
| Williston | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $677 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here fell from 834 in 2013 to 662.
Most working residents leave Williston for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Williston has lost 172 jobs, to 662 in 2023. The top destinations are Aiken (11%), Barnwell (5%) and Columbia (4%).
| Williston | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $39,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 6.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Williston has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 35° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 0 of its 5,736 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Williston itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Williston Town Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Williston; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Williston residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
4 notable people were born in Williston.
Town in South Carolina, United States
Williston is a town in Barnwell County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,139 at the 2010 census. The town lies in the center of the Charleston-Hamburg railroad line, the line of the Best Friend locomotive. The train tracks were removed in the 1990s, but the track site has been designated as historically significant by the South Carolina Department of Archives. This section of the train route is now part of the South Carolina Heritage Corridor. The small-town community once had its own newspaper, The Williston Way, founded in 1921.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Williston grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #139 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D− for health, D for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 34% of towns.
4 notable people were born here, including Joseph Emile Harley and Rafael Bush.
