The 10 Best College Towns In South Carolina For 2024

Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and South Carolina is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within South Carolina are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in South Carolina are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

The 10 Best College Towns In South Carolina For 2024

1. Clemson, SC
2. Aiken, SC
3. Rock Hill, SC
4. Central, SC
5. Greenwood, SC
6. Bluffton, SC
7. Charleston, SC
8. Gaffney, SC
9. Conway, SC
10. Orangeburg, SC

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Clemson, Aiken and Rock Hill - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Clemson ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Read on to find out more or for more on South Carolina check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Carolina
• Best Counties To Live In South Carolina
• Cheapest Places To Live In South Carolina

The 10 Best College Towns In South Carolina For 2024

Colleges: Clemson University

Colleges: University of South Carolina-Aiken, Aiken School of Cosmetology and Barbering

Colleges: Winthrop University, York Technical College, Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology-Rock Hill

Colleges: Southern Wesleyan University

Colleges: Piedmont Technical College, Lander University, Charzanne Beauty College

Colleges: University of South Carolina-Beaufort

Colleges: Trident Technical College, College of Charleston, Charleston Southern University

Colleges: Limestone College

Colleges: Coastal Carolina University, Horry-Georgetown Technical College, Miller-Motte Technical College-Conway

Colleges: South Carolina State University, Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College, Claflin University

How'd we figure out the best college towns in South Carolina?

To crunch our data on South Carolina's best college towns, we used Saturday Night Science to decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 15 places in South Carolina with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

• Students Make Up Large % of the Population
• College-specific Factors
• Graduation rate
• Tuition Cost
• Student Body Diversity
• Town Characteristics
• Safety
• Affordability
• Income and Employment Opportunities
• Things to Do
• Bars
• Museums & Libraries
• Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In South Carolina For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in South Carolina.

And it looks like Clemson placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The South Carolina

If you're looking for the best college towns in South Carolina, you came to the right place.

The best college towns in South Carolina are Clemson, Aiken, Rock Hill, Central, Greenwood, Bluffton, Charleston, Gaffney, Conway, and Orangeburg.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

For more reading, check out:

• Small Towns In South Carolina Where You'd Never Want To Live
• Best Cities For Singles In South Carolina
• Best Places To Live In South Carolina

15 Best College Towns In South Carolina

Rank	City	Population
1	Clemson, SC	17557
2	Aiken, SC	32014
3	Rock Hill, SC	74170
4	Central, SC	5272
5	Greenwood, SC	22528
6	Bluffton, SC	29375
7	Charleston, SC	149960
8	Gaffney, SC	12651
9	Conway, SC	25121
10	Orangeburg, SC	13220
11	Columbia, SC	136754
12	Hartsville, SC	7450
13	Clinton, SC	7624
14	Newberry, SC	10682
15	Anderson, SC	29345