These Are The 10 Smartest Cities In South Carolina

One of the many qualities that people look for in a potential location or company is the intelligence of those around them. This factor can play a huge role in oneâs experience at a particular company and can make or break an employeeâs time there.

So finding a city with an intelligent population makes sense for both companies and employees. Thatâs where Zippia comes in; to help you identify those places in South Carolina that might have skipped a gradeâ¦or two.

You may be wondering how does one determine how intelligent a town really is?

Well we went to the source of all things demographic data â the Census â to figure out what criteria about a place would identify it is a smart cookie.

We set upon the percentage of adults (over 25) with at least a high school degree and the percentage of high school dropouts (aged 16-20) for the 62 largest cities in South Carolina with data. We then crunched the numbers and were left with this set of the brightest cities in the Palmetto State:

Tega Cay
Forest Acres
Charleston
Mauldin
Port Royal
Aiken
Mount Pleasant
Fort Mill
Hilton Head Island
Lexington

Read on to see why these places got into a four-year college or skip to the end to see a full chart of all the places in our analysis.

For more SC reading, check out:

How we determined the smartest places in the Palmetto State

Before we could dive into the potential IQs of various places in South Carolina, we needed to know which places to look at in the first place. We settled upon any place with over 5,000 people and data available for every criteria.

This left us with 62 places in South Carolina.

We then looked at the following criteria to determine the cream from the crop when it comes to smarts:

Our data comes directly from the latest American Community Survey from the Census.

We thought this criteria was representative of the current state of smarts with the potential for a place to improve the education levels of the next generation. And itâs not like we are setting the education bar incredibly high â 80% of students graduate from high school nowadays.

In order to determine the smartest, we ranked all the cities for each criteria from one to 62 with one being the âsmartestâ in any category.

We took the average rank across all criteria, with the place posting the highest overall score being given the diploma for âSmartest City In South Carolinaâ.

If your city or town isnât among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart. Otherwise, learn more about how the top ten cities achieved their potential.

1. Tega Cay

Population: 8,224
Adults Without High School Diploma: 2.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Graduating early is the town of Tega Cay. Theyâll be hanging up their diplomas with pride.

Coming in our number one spot with only 2.3% of the population lacking a high school diploma and an ultra low dropout rate this town is going places. Tega Cay is our best hope for a bright future in South Carolina.

2. Forest Acres

Population: 10,533
Adults Without High School Diploma: 3.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.6%

Forest Acres has ranked #2 in our list of the smartest cities in South Carolina. With a population of 10,533 and a dropout rate of only .6% no wonder the citizens here are ranking up so high.

The IQs around here must be astonishing.

3. Charleston

Population: 125,458
Adults Without High School Diploma: 6.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.0%

The metropolis of Charleston, SC has come into the #3 spot. This lovely tourist destination is steeped in a rich history dating back to the founding of the nation. Based on the dropout rate of only 1% it seems like the students here have been brushing up on it too.

With so much to learn about the city itâs no wonder everyone here is such a smarty.

4. Mauldin

Population: 23,985
Adults Without High School Diploma: 8.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Mauldin, SC is our #4 Smartest city in the state of South Carolina. Even with a population over 23,000 strong the high school dropout rate is virtually non-existent.

Clearly the people here are some of the brightest bulbs in the area.

5. Port Royal

Population: 11,264
Adults Without High School Diploma: 7.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.1%

The sea facing city of Port Royal has taken the #5 spot on our Smartest cities list. With just over 7% of the population walking around without a high school diploma and a high school dropout rate hovering around the 1% mark the students here are already bragging on their SAT scores!

6. Aiken

Population: 29,980
Adults Without High School Diploma: 9.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

The city of Aiken is chock full of intelligence. With a population of just under 30,000 people this city is on itâs way to doing pretty big things.

7. Mount Pleasant

Population: 72,379
Adults Without High School Diploma: 2.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 3.9%

Coming in hot in the #7 spot is Mount Pleasant, SC. Boasting nearly 73,000 residents within the city lines and only 2.4% of its adult population lacking a high school diploma this city is a breeding ground for intelligence.

8. Fort Mill

Population: 12,068
Adults Without High School Diploma: 10.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Taking the coveted #8 spot is the town of Fort Mill, SC. With virtually no high school dropouts around itâs no big surprise this city made our list.

9. Hilton Head Island

Population: 38,497
Adults Without High School Diploma: 7.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 2.5%

The lovely town of Hilton Head Island has ranked #9 on our list of the Smartest cities in SC. Despite having miles of amazing coastline to goof off on the kids here have buckled down and studied hard and so earned their #9 spot.

10. Lexington

Population: 19,007
Adults Without High School Diploma: 6.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 4.0%

The up and coming town of Lexington, SC has rounded out our list at the #10 spot. With a population hovering around 19,000 people and impressive high school dropout rates itâs no wonder this city is home to some of the smartest people in South Carolina.

And thatâs how you graduate in style

There you have it folks, the Ten Smartest Cities in the state of South Carolina. They have the numbers to back it up so go ahead and visit them to soak up some of the smarts around town. If youâd like more information on different cities and states around the U.S. be sure to visit www.zippia.com to have all of your questions answered.

Detailed List Of Smartest Cities In South Carolina

City	Rank	Population	Adults Without High School Diploma	Teenage High School Dropouts
Tega Cay	1	8,224	2.3%	0.0%
Forest Acres	2	10,533	3.9%	0.6%
Charleston	3	125,458	6.8%	1.0%
Mauldin	4	23,985	8.2%	0.0%
Port Royal	5	11,264	7.4%	1.1%
Aiken	6	29,980	9.4%	0.0%
Mount Pleasant	7	72,379	2.4%	3.9%
Fort Mill	8	12,068	10.6%	0.0%
Hilton Head Island	9	38,497	7.2%	2.5%
Lexington	10	19,007	6.4%	4.0%
Goose Creek	11	38,545	7.3%	3.5%
Clemson	12	14,254	3.2%	4.1%
Hanahan	13	18,999	10.0%	1.8%
Bluffton	14	13,979	11.5%	1.3%
Camden	15	6,931	13.5%	0.0%
North Myrtle Beach	16	14,485	6.7%	5.2%
James Island	17	11,451	8.8%	3.9%
Georgetown	18	9,110	14.9%	0.0%
Cayce	19	12,944	12.1%	2.2%
Columbia	20	131,331	13.6%	1.4%
Central	21	5,170	14.9%	0.9%
Conway	22	18,645	15.6%	0.9%
Seneca	23	8,147	16.0%	0.0%
Clover	24	5,321	16.2%	0.0%
Marion	25	6,833	16.4%	0.0%
Summerville	26	44,717	7.5%	7.7%
Beaufort	27	12,702	10.9%	5.2%
Sumter	28	40,819	15.9%	1.8%
Florence	29	37,512	12.5%	4.4%
Irmo	30	11,518	7.2%	11.9%
Union	31	8,191	19.0%	0.0%
Simpsonville	32	19,219	9.1%	8.3%
Rock Hill	33	68,185	12.3%	5.3%
North Augusta	34	21,832	9.0%	8.3%
Orangeburg	35	13,790	15.5%	4.0%
Hartsville	36	7,857	15.3%	4.4%
Greenville	37	60,670	13.2%	6.8%
Lancaster	38	8,801	20.1%	1.8%
Fountain Inn	39	8,031	9.9%	14.3%
Greer	40	26,626	15.5%	5.4%
Spartanburg	41	37,216	18.3%	3.8%
Cheraw	42	5,809	28.1%	0.0%
Myrtle Beach	43	28,455	14.2%	9.0%
Laurens	44	9,136	21.1%	2.9%
Lake City	45	6,720	29.2%	0.0%
Newberry	46	10,259	27.1%	2.1%
Easley	47	20,242	17.8%	5.6%
West Columbia	48	15,623	15.7%	12.4%
Gaffney	49	12,565	22.1%	4.0%
Moncks Corner	50	8,711	14.4%	21.0%
Batesburg-Leesville	51	5,242	18.6%	8.4%
Darlington	52	6,232	20.3%	7.5%
North Charleston	53	102,143	19.3%	8.8%
Anderson	54	26,798	22.2%	5.8%
Clinton	55	8,525	27.4%	5.7%
Walterboro	56	5,339	17.5%	21.2%
Abbeville	57	5,207	23.3%	11.4%
Chester	58	5,543	29.0%	10.2%
Bennettsville	59	8,928	28.1%	13.2%
Greenwood	60	23,296	28.8%	13.5%
York	61	7,913	26.7%	24.7%
Dillon	62	6,731	36.4%	18.6%