Chapin, South Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 7.6% since 2020.

1,945

people, the 120th-largest of South Carolina's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among South Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

97.5%

of 2,652 jobs located in Chapin are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 55% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,570

a month. South Carolina's median is $1,180.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,793 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Lexington County.

• $874 Tract 210.28
• $2,667 Tract 210.45

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$794–$1,191

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,570 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

42% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 42% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–4.4% to the 614 homes here.

1–27

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 15% less than South Carolina's.

$221,000

median home value in Chapin.

• $221,000 Chapin
• $259,000 South Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year