Red Bank is an unincorporated community in Lexington County, SC. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Red Bank

Red Bank is an unincorporated community in South Carolina with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, a growing population, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Red Bank deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, hot summers, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

  • Rent below the national average
  • Affordable home prices
  • Growing population
  • Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

  • Below-average household incomes
  • Low college degree attainment
  • Hot summers
  • Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
  • Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Red Bank compares

Median household income

Red Bank$68,004
South Carolina avg$69,324
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Red Bank$1,160
South Carolina avg$1,180
US$1,413

Median home value

Red Bank$189,000
South Carolina avg$259,000
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Red Bank

Based on Red Bank's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,320

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $46,400 a year
  • 48% of Red Bank renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$37,800

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $18,900
  • Homes cost 2.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 18% below US

$1,160/mo median rent

Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,160 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $189,000. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.

Median home value $189,000 · 48% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.8% county unemployment

Unemployment in Lexington County is 3.8%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Lexington County (county-wide)

Safety

225 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Red Bank doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Lexington County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1365/100k · Policed by Lexington County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

25 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 25.1 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 8% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
83%
Work from home
8.4%
Carpool
7.9%
Other
0.6%
Walk
0.4%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 36°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
20°40°60°80°100°5.5"Jan: 3.49" precipitationFeb: 3.39" precipitationMar: 3.57" precipitationApr: 2.83" precipitationMay: 3.49" precipitationJun: 4.97" precipitationJul: 5.35" precipitationAug: 4.65" precipitationSep: 3.91" precipitationOct: 3.13" precipitationNov: 2.76" precipitationDec: 3.70" precipitation35°JJan: high 57°F, low 35°FFFeb: high 61°F, low 37°FMMar: high 68°F, low 44°FAApr: high 77°F, low 52°FMMay: high 84°F, low 61°FJJun: high 90°F, low 69°F93°JJul: high 93°F, low 72°FAAug: high 91°F, low 71°FSSep: high 86°F, low 65°FOOct: high 77°F, low 53°FNNov: high 66°F, low 42°FDDec: high 59°F, low 37°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 46% below US

19% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

2 public schools inside the boundary

There are 2 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 11:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Congaree National Park (30 miles away). There are 5 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Red Bank's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,160/mo) equals 20% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.

See all the data for Red Bank →·All South Carolina cities →

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