New census figures shed light on how Rock Hill stacks up on money, growth, living
Rock Hill is a family city. A diverse place where workers get up and drive to jobs that don’t pay what people in other big cities might expect, but where homes and apartments are more affordable once they get back.
Those are some of the takeaways from U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday. A wide range of estimates detail communities with 65,000 or more people. In South Carolina, that means Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Mount Pleasant and North Charleston, along with Rock Hill.
The Herald dug into those numbers to see how Rock Hill compared with its peers in the state, plus its big neighbor to the north — Charlotte. Here’s what we found:
Population, growth and diversity
▪ Rock Hill remains the fifth largest city in South Carolina, but it’s nowhere near the size of Charlotte. Charleston and Columbia are double the size of Rock Hill, too.
Rank: Charlotte (911,307), Charleston (155,988), Columbia (142,083), North Charleston (121,463), Mount Pleasant (95,229), Rock Hill (75,641), Greenville (72,822)
▪ Rock Hill isn’t growing the way its peers are. In growth rate and total new people, the city lags. From 2022 to the new estimate for last year, Rock Hill grew by 0.4% or fewer than 300 new residents.
Rank: North Charleston (2.4%), Columbia (2%), Charleston (1.5%), Charlotte (1.5%), Greenville (0.7%), Mount Pleasant (0.7%), Rock Hill (0.4%)
▪ Despite its place on the smaller end of big cities, Rock Hill has diversity. The nearly 52% of Rock Hill people who list white as all or part of their race is the lowest figure on the South Carolina side.
Rank: Mount Pleasant (94.8%), Charleston (81.9%), Greenville (72.5%), Columbia (56.2%), North Charleston (52.9%), Rock Hill (51.9%), Charlotte (48.9%)
The 43.8% of Rock Hill that list Black as part of their race is highest among all the cities.
Rank: Rock Hill (43.8%), Columbia (40.1%), North Charleston (36.6%), Charlotte (35.8%), Greenville (21.7%), Charleston (17.5%), Mount Pleasant (3.8%)
▪ Call Rock Hill a middle-aged city, but not the way you’d think. Rock Hill easily has the lowest percentage of preschool age children (4%) and seniors 85 and older (0.7%) or any city. Rock Hill’s population is 17.3% children.
Rank: Mount Pleasant (22.9%), Charlotte (22%), North Charleston (20.3%), Charleston (18.7%), Rock Hill (17.3%), Greenville (17.2%), Columbia (14.6%)
Jobs, wealth and education
▪ Rock Hill is still working its way up the corporate ladder. In the past year, workers 25 and older brought in a median personal income of $42,236. That’s nearly $13,000 less than Charlotte workers, and lower than in any other big city in South Carolina.
Rank: Mount Pleasant ($70,606), Charleston ($62,144), Greenville ($59,870), Charlotte ($55,018), Columbia ($45,947), North Charleston ($45,662), Rock Hill ($42,236)
▪ Rock Hill gets low marks for higher learning. Only 32% of its residents 25 years and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Only North Charleston ranks lower.
Rank: Mount Pleasant (71.6%), Charleston (61.2%), Greenville (59.6%), Charlotte (50.1%), Columbia (47.4%), Rock Hill (32%), North Charleston (29.2%)
▪ Charlotte and Rock Hill are neighbors in home value. Neither can compete with the big cities at the beach, led by Mount Pleasant, which doubles this area in values for homes with mortgages.
Rank: Mount Pleasant ($833,900), Charleston ($534,500), Greenville ($496,000), Charlotte ($424,000), Rock Hill ($322,000), North Charleston ($321,700), Columbia $285,000
▪ Apartments in Rock Hill are more affordable than in other big cities. The median gross rent of about $1,300 a month is lower than all but Columbia. Rock Hill doesn’t have as many four- and five-bedroom units listed, though, which can skew the numbers down.
Rank: Columbia ($1,205), Rock Hill ($1,301), Greenville ($1,451), North Charleston ($1,534), Charlotte ($1,656), Charleston ($1,728), Mount Pleasant ($2,179)
▪ There’s a reason homebuyers look at South Carolina when they’re picking in the Charlotte metro. Rock Hill and Charlotte are on opposite ends of the ledger for annual real estate taxes paid by homeowners.
Rank: North Charleston ($1,509), Rock Hill ($1,574), Columbia ($1,703), Mount Pleasant ($2,306), Charleston ($2,319), Greenville ($2,591), Charlotte ($2,790)
Lifestyle
▪ Families tend to stay together in Rock Hill. The nearly 78% of people who live with family is second only to Mount Pleasant. Rock Hill is middle-of-the-pack for family homes led by married couples (49.7%; fifth highest), but ranks higher than any of its peers for homes led by unmarried women (23.4%) or men (6.9%).
Rank (living with family): Mount Pleasant (81.5%), Rock Hill (77.9%), Charlotte (76%), North Charleston (70.9%), Charleston (68.3%), Greenville (67.7%), Columbia (66%)
▪ Rock Hill hits the road when the work bell rings. Charlotte has a work-from-home rate about three times higher than Rock Hill does, for workers 16 and older. Only about 10% of Rock Hill works from home.
Rank: Charlotte (29.7%), Mount Pleasant (26.8%), Charleston (21%), Greenville (16.9%), Columbia (11.9%), North Charleston (11%), Rock Hill 10.1%
▪ Rock Hill workers have more tax forms to fill out each year. Three in four Rock Hill workers have a job in South Carolina, and almost 70% of Rock Hill works inside York County. That means 25% of the city leaves the state to work, easily the highest rate among the cities. Rock Hill’s proximity to Charlotte likely plays a significant role.
Rank: Rock Hill (25.2%), Greenville (4.2%), Charlotte (3.1%), Charleston (1.8%), Columbia (1.7%), North Charleston (1.5%), Mount Pleasant (N/A)
