county

Lee County, SC

Demographic and economic profile of Lee County, SC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Lee County is a small rural South Carolina county with a population of 16,330 and a labor force participation rate of just 47.8%, reflecting a constrained workforce base alongside a 5.7% unemployment rate and a poverty rate of 23.3%. Educational attainment is limited, with only 12.8% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher, while median worker earnings stand at $31,906 and per capita income at $24,133. The county has seen a population decline of 7.2% over five years, though housing costs remain low, with a median home value of $101,900 and median gross rent of $806 per month.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

16,330

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$44,760

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

42.4 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-7.2% since 2018

Lee County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • Black or African American Alone10,051 (62.2%)
  • White Alone5,512 (34.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races301 (1.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone200 (1.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race33 (0.2%)
  • Asian Alone26 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish376
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic33
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)11
  4. 4.Other Indo-European5
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)3

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

18.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

839

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$22,843

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$24,133

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

23.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Manufacturing (Group)1,186
  2. 2.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,116
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)669
  4. 4.Public Administration (Group)471
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services371

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,714
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,501
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,243
  4. 4.Service Occupations734
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations655

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 2.11×)1,283
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.89×)546
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.42×)409
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.05×)701
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.03×)552

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$101,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$806/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

70.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999499 (11.1%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999468 (10.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999424 (9.5%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999331 (7.4%)
  • $70,000 to $79,999314 (7.0%)
  • $60,000 to $69,999297 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

81.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

47.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$31,906

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

28.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

11.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,648 (81.6%)
  • Carpooled673 (11.8%)
  • Worked At Home164 (2.9%)
  • Other148 (2.6%)
  • Walked60 (1.1%)
  • Taxi3 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.