Counties / South Carolina / Lee County

Lee County, SC

FIPS 45061 · population 16,166 · outside every metro area

$138k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$138k
▼ 8.6% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$823
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$902
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

The annual signals disagree
FHFA five-year cumulative+52.3%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06−8.6%FHFA HPI2025+12.2%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$105k
Surveyed gross rent$823
Rent burden 30%+52.5%
Median year built1983
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
16.5%vacant
7,602estimated housing units
Occupied tenure29.5% renter
owner 70.5%renter 29.5%
Structure mix62.4% single-family
Single-family 62.4%20+ units 0.5%Mobile home 29.6%Other 7.4%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs3,599▼ 1.9% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments299annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$951▼ 0.3% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorEducation and health services27.8% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−1.9%WEEKLY WAGE−0.3%Education and health services27.8%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Lee County presents a valuation conflict for cautious investigation: Zillow’s labeled 2026-06 county median home value was $138,288, down 8.56% year over year, while FHFA’s separately labeled 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 12.21%. They are different methods and periods; the HPI is not a home value and must not be averaged with Zillow’s change. Verify the subject’s price basis and condition before using either series as valuation evidence.

02Housing economics

No median asking market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. The $902 two-bedroom HUD FMR is a payment standard, not a market-rent estimate, and cannot fill that gap. The effective property-tax rate is 0.57%, and reported median annual tax is $599; neither establishes a particular parcel’s bill. Achieved and asking rents, lease terms, vacancy, operating costs, and parcel assessment are needed to test cash flow and carrying costs.

03Demand & competition

QCEW’s annual average records 3,599 covered jobs at county workplaces, down 1.85%, with Education and health services the largest disclosed private supersector. It is not resident employment, unemployment, or a forecast. Tax-return migration was net negative 75 households, and movers in had average AGI $1,288 below movers out; neither result proves tenant demand. Investors made 5 of 72 purchase mortgages, or 6.94%, a visible but small-count competition measure. No Realtor.com listing price, active inventory, days on market, reductions, or pending ratio is published, leaving MLS supply and seller concessions unmeasured.

04Risk & next checks

Hurricane is the dominant hazard, and the modeled climate-loss ratio is 0.16% of building value per year. This is a modeled expected-loss measure, not a parcel loss estimate or insurance quote. Obtain elevation, flood and wind exposure, prior claims, replacement cost, deductibles, and bindable insurance; inspect condition and verify rents. Closed-sale comparables and current MLS listings are also needed because county evidence cannot establish a subject asset’s liquidation value, tenant demand, or resilience to hazard costs.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Lee County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Bishopville city2.9KManville CDP827Lynchburg town323Elliott CDP230Wisacky CDP149St. Charles CDP139Browntown CDP88Ashwood CDP50
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

8 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Bishopville cityIncorporated place
    2,910
  2. 02
    Manville CDPCensus-designated place
    827
  3. 03
    Lynchburg townIncorporated place
    323
  4. 04
    Elliott CDPCensus-designated place
    230
  5. 05
    Wisacky CDPCensus-designated place
    149
  6. 06
    St. Charles CDPCensus-designated place
    139
  7. 07
    Browntown CDPCensus-designated place
    88
  8. 08
    Ashwood CDPCensus-designated place
    50

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardhurricane

0.165% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.57%

$599 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration-75

334 in · 409 out

Arriving vs leaving income−$1,288

$34,922 arriving · $36,210 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors6.9%

5 of 72 mortgages

investorother financed
No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Unpublished market rent, vacancy, and operating costs may not support the purchase price and carrying costs.
  2. Parcel-specific hurricane exposure, insurance availability, deductibles, or prior losses may exceed county-level hazard evidence.
  3. Conflicting value indicators and absent MLS or closed-sale evidence may misstate resale liquidity.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. Median asking market rent is not published, and HUD’s $902 two-bedroom FMR cannot be used as market rent.

What does the FHFA result measure?

It is a repeat-transaction house-price index: it rose 12.21% in the labeled 2025 annual period, but it is not a dollar home value.

How much investor purchase activity is reported?

Investors made 5 of 72 purchase mortgages, representing 6.94% of recorded purchases.