Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in South Carolina
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
South Carolina ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lancaster County | 37.9" | Relatively Low | $298,100 |
| 2 | Kershaw County | 38.3" | Relatively Low | $191,900 |
| 3 | Marlboro County | 41.7" | Relatively Low | $74,500 |
| 4 | Abbeville County | 42.0" | Relatively Low | $147,200 |
| 5 | Greenwood County | 42.0" | Relatively Low | $166,400 |
| 6 | Calhoun County | 43.7" | Very Low | $148,800 |
| 7 | Orangeburg County | 43.7" | Relatively Moderate | $109,700 |
| 8 | Richland County | 43.7" | Relatively Moderate | $224,200 |
| 9 | Edgefield County | 44.1" | Very Low | $194,300 |
| 10 | York County | 44.1" | Relatively Moderate | $322,700 |
| 11 | Charleston County | 44.3" | Relatively High | $450,800 |
| 12 | Beaufort County | 45.0" | Relatively High | $407,600 |
| 13 | Jasper County | 45.0" | Relatively Low | $269,400 |
| 14 | Fairfield County | 45.1" | Very Low | $129,100 |
| 15 | Lexington County | 45.2" | Relatively Moderate | $217,700 |
| 16 | Hampton County | 45.3" | Relatively Low | $102,400 |
| 17 | Union County | 45.3" | Relatively Low | $100,000 |
| 18 | Florence County | 45.3" | Relatively Moderate | $165,500 |
| 19 | Williamsburg County | 45.3" | Relatively Moderate | $95,100 |
| 20 | Cherokee County | 45.3" | Relatively Low | $135,200 |
| 21 | Chester County | 45.9" | Relatively Low | $143,800 |
| 22 | Aiken County | 46.2" | Relatively Moderate | $199,500 |
| 23 | Barnwell County | 46.2" | Relatively Low | $97,200 |
| 24 | Newberry County | 46.5" | Relatively Low | $158,200 |
| 25 | Lee County | 46.6" | Very Low | $101,900 |
| 26 | Laurens County | 46.7" | Relatively Low | $153,500 |
| 27 | Saluda County | 46.8" | Very Low | $123,200 |
| 28 | Greenville County | 47.0" | Relatively Moderate | $273,900 |
| 29 | McCormick County | 47.3" | Very Low | $159,000 |
| 30 | Darlington County | 47.9" | Relatively Low | $141,400 |
| 31 | Bamberg County | 48.5" | Relatively Low | $96,000 |
| 32 | Dillon County | 48.6" | Relatively Moderate | $84,400 |
| 33 | Allendale County | 48.8" | Very Low | $61,600 |
| 34 | Sumter County | 48.8" | Relatively Moderate | $159,500 |
| 35 | Marion County | 49.3" | Relatively Low | $86,800 |
| 36 | Chesterfield County | 49.8" | Relatively Low | $101,400 |
| 37 | Spartanburg County | 50.2" | Relatively Moderate | $216,000 |
| 38 | Anderson County | 50.3" | Relatively Moderate | $212,500 |
| 39 | Colleton County | 51.4" | Relatively Moderate | $145,900 |
| 40 | Berkeley County | 52.3" | Relatively High | $280,300 |
| 41 | Dorchester County | 52.7" | Relatively Moderate | $294,400 |
| 42 | Horry County | 55.2" | Relatively High | $260,500 |
| 43 | Georgetown County | 55.4" | Relatively Moderate | $262,300 |
| 44 | Clarendon County | 55.7" | Relatively Low | $147,300 |
| 45 | Pickens County | 56.7" | Relatively Low | $216,000 |
| 46 | Oconee County | 61.1" | Relatively Moderate | $217,200 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in South Carolina