Groundwork

Real estate · County · South Carolina

Real estate businesses in Saluda County, SC

How Saluda County, SC compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 77 out of 100: High

Ranked #65 of 2,229 scored counties
#1 of 40 scored counties in South Carolina

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$102.8M
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,407 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
396
4 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.8
80% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
19,680
+4.1% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in Saluda County

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Saluda County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For real estate businesses, Saluda County has a Groundwork market score of 77 (high): #65 of 2,229 scored counties and #1 of 40 scored counties in South Carolina. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for real estate businesses.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in Saluda County comes to about $102.8M a year: $13,407 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 4 times the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

Saluda County has 6 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 7.8 for every 10,000 households, 80% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Saluda County in 2023. That is one for every 2,557 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Saluda County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Saluda County compares

The same measures for South Carolina and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Saluda County, SC compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureSaluda CountySouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.842.738.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)39680100
Households per official establishment2,557363414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+26.8%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.1%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,407$14,791$16,661
Median household income$51,009$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score7735

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
2
Annual payroll, 2023
$206K
One-person businesses, 2023
39Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
61 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Saluda County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Saluda County

Population, 2025 estimate
19,680+4.1% since 2020
Households
7,670
Median age
44.0
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
453 sq. mi.
People per square mile
42
Median household income
$51,009+11.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,200
Median home value
$146,500
Jobs located here
5,321
Daytime population
16,117Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Saluda County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Saluda County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Real estate across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in South Carolina for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with Saluda County marked.

Top counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Saluda County, SC7767.8396+4.1%#65 of 2,229
2Abbeville County, SC7788.2388+2.3%#67 of 2,229
3Edgefield County, SC771515.4215+16.1%#73 of 2,229
4Laurens County, SC763011.1278+6.2%#88 of 2,229
5Newberry County, SC72149.1345+4.8%#156 of 2,229
6Chester County, SC691410.6283+2.2%#227 of 2,229
7Jasper County, SC691813.7239+32.2%#234 of 2,229
8Kershaw County, SC694617.1195+11.6%#242 of 2,229
9Chesterfield County, SC662413.7218+3.4%#343 of 2,229
10Cherokee County, SC652611.8255+3.7%#369 of 2,229

Other business types in Saluda County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in Saluda County, SC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 real estate businesses in Saluda County. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Another 39 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Saluda County, SC spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $102.8M a year, or $13,407 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 6 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 4 times the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,670 households in Saluda County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Saluda County, SC compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

Saluda County has 7.8 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 80% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 396, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Saluda County would have about 24, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,557 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is Saluda County, SC growing?

Population estimates put Saluda County at 19,680 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,670 households. Median household income in Saluda County is $51,009, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 11.6%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Saluda County scores 77 for real estate businesses (high), #65 of 2,229 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Saluda County. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in Saluda County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Saluda County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Saluda County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.