Lexington County, South Carolina

Lexington County is a county in South Carolina, United States, directly across the Congaree
River from downtown Columbia. It had a population of 293,991 at the 2020 census, an estimated
317,588 by 2025, and covers 757.62 square miles (1,962 km2) centred near 33°54′N 81°16′W.

Lexington is the county seat, though it is one of several sizable towns rather than the
county’s biggest place outright; its postal code is 29072. The county holds 3 cities, 12
incorporated towns and 6 census-designated places, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is
45063.

Towns & Villages in Lexington County

Lexington County has 21 named places on record: 15 incorporated cities and towns and 6
census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census
designated place, a Census Bureau statistical area with no incorporated boundary or elected
government.

Four of these places straddle the Richland County line, and the figures above are each
place’s full citywide population, not just its Lexington County share. Columbia’s city
limits sit mostly in Richland County, with only a slice reaching west across the Congaree River
into Lexington. Cayce and Irmo run the same way, with most of their land and residents in
Lexington County but a smaller portion in Richland. Chapin sits at the meeting point of
Lexington, Newberry and Richland counties. Batesburg-Leesville is itself a merger, formed in 1993
when the neighboring towns of Batesburg and Leesville combined under one government; both former
names remain in local use for the two halves of town.

ZIP Codes

• 29072 — Lexington (the county seat’s main code)
• 29073 — Lexington (also covers Pine Ridge)
• 29071 — Lexington (PO box only)
• 29169 — West Columbia (also serves South Congaree)
• 29170 — West Columbia (also serves Springdale)
• 29172 — West Columbia
• 29033 — Cayce
• 29212 — Columbia (the Lexington County side, near Seven Oaks and Red Bank)
• 29036 — Chapin
• 29006 — Batesburg
• 29070 — Leesville
• 29053 — Gaston
• 29054 — Gilbert
• 29123 — Pelion
• 29160 — Swansea

Irmo’s post office code, 29063, is administered from the Richland County side of town and
is not counted among Lexington County’s own ZIPs. Seven Oaks, Oak Grove, Red Bank, White
Knoll, Edmund, Fairview Crossroads and Summit have no ZIP of their own; mail there is delivered
under a neighboring town’s code.

Geography

Lexington County lies in South Carolina’s Midlands, the transition belt between the
Piedmont and the coastal plain, on the west bank of the Congaree River opposite Columbia. Of its
757.62 square miles, 699.00 are land and 58.62 are water, about 7.7 percent — high for an
inland county, and almost all of it is Lake Murray, a reservoir formed by the Saluda River dam
that forms much of the county’s northwestern boundary. The Broad and Congaree rivers mark
the county’s eastern edge, where the Broad and Saluda join to form the Congaree just above
Columbia.

Richland County lies to the east, Orangeburg and Calhoun counties to the southeast, Aiken
County to the southwest, Saluda County to the west, and Newberry County to the northwest.
Richland County,
Orangeburg County,
Calhoun County,
Aiken County,
Saluda County and
Newberry County all border Lexington
directly.

Demographics

Lexington County had a population of 293,991 at the 2020 census, the sixth-highest count of
any South Carolina county, and the latest estimate puts it near 317,588 residents by 2025.
Columbia and West Columbia are the two largest incorporated places by citywide population, though
most of Columbia’s residents live across the river in Richland County; Lexington, the
county seat, is the largest place fully contained within the county. Median household income
runs $75,014 (2023 ACS), above South Carolina’s statewide figure of $67,804 (2023 ACS).
Population density works out to roughly 421 people per square mile of land, well above the state
average and reflecting the county’s position inside the Columbia metropolitan area.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 18,746 people,
followed by retail trade at 15,990 and manufacturing at 15,165. Lexington Medical Center, based
in the town of West Columbia, is the county’s largest single employer with roughly 7,893
workers and serves as the main hospital system for the Midlands. Amazon runs a fulfillment
operation near the Columbia Metropolitan Airport employing about 3,050 people, and Michelin
operates a tire plant employing around 2,240. Lake Murray, on the county’s northwestern
edge, anchors a substantial recreation and tourism economy of marinas, lakefront housing and
fishing tournaments. Gilbert hosts the county’s biggest annual event, the Lexington County
Peach Festival, each July.

History

South Carolina’s general assembly established Lexington County in 1785, at the same time
it created the state’s original county system out of the old district courts. It was named
for Lexington, Massachusetts, site of the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War in
1775. The town of Lexington was laid out as the county seat soon after.

Granby, once a fortified trading post and river port on the Congaree near present-day Cayce,
was among the earliest European settlements in the area and a scene of fighting during the
Revolutionary War; it declined after the war and is now a ghost town with no remaining
population. The county’s modern growth followed the completion of Lake Murray in 1930,
built as a hydroelectric project, and later the construction of Interstates 20, 26 and 77 through
the 1960s and 1970s, which drew Columbia-area commuters and manufacturers into the county.

Getting There

Interstates 20, 26 and 77 all cross Lexington County, converging near its eastern edge close
to Columbia. US 1, US 176, US 178, US 321 and US 378 also run through the county.

• Columbia — adjoining, across the Congaree River
• Aiken — about 30 miles southwest
• Newberry — about 25 miles northwest
• Orangeburg — about 30 miles southeast

Columbia Metropolitan Airport, on the county’s eastern side near Cayce, is the region’s
main commercial airport and a regional UPS air hub. Lexington County has no Amtrak station; the
nearest stop is Amtrak’s Columbia station across the river in Richland County.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lexington County located?
It sits in South Carolina’s Midlands, on the west bank of the Congaree River directly
across from Columbia, bordered by Richland, Orangeburg, Calhoun, Aiken, Saluda and Newberry
counties.

What is the population of Lexington County?
293,991 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 317,588 by 2025 — the sixth-most populous
county in South Carolina.

How big is Lexington County?
757.62 square miles (1,962 km2), of which 699.00 square miles are land and 58.62 square miles
are water, most of it Lake Murray.

What is the county seat of Lexington County?
Lexington, founded soon after the county in 1785 and named for Lexington, Massachusetts.

How many towns and cities are in Lexington County?
Fifteen incorporated places — the cities of Columbia (partly), West Columbia and Cayce
(partly), and the towns of Lexington, Irmo (partly), Batesburg-Leesville, Springdale, South
Congaree, Pine Ridge, Chapin, Gaston, Swansea, Pelion, Gilbert and Summit — plus six
census-designated places: Seven Oaks, Oak Grove, Red Bank, White Knoll, Edmund and Fairview
Crossroads.

What ZIP codes does Lexington County use?
29072, 29073 and 29071 for Lexington; 29169, 29170 and 29172 for West Columbia and its
neighbors; 29033 for Cayce; 29212 for the Lexington County side of Columbia; plus 29036, 29006,
29070, 29053, 29054, 29123 and 29160 for the county’s smaller towns.

What is Lexington County known for?
Lake Murray, one of South Carolina’s largest reservoirs, and its position as the fast-growing
suburban half of the Columbia metropolitan area west of the Congaree River.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in South Carolina.