Newberry County is a county in South Carolina, United States, roughly halfway between Columbia and Greenville. It had a population of 37,719 at the 2020 census and covers 630 square miles (1,632 km2) of land centred near 34°17′N 81°36′W.
Newberry is the county seat, postal code is 29108. The county has six incorporated towns (Little Mountain, Peak, Pomaria, Prosperity, Silverstreet, Whitmire) plus Helena and several unincorporated communities. South Carolina has no civil townships. The county sits in the Eastern time zone.
Towns & Villages in Newberry County
Newberry County has one incorporated city (its seat) and six incorporated towns, plus a census-designated place and a handful of long-standing unincorporated communities and crossroads. CDP = census-designated place; Unincorp. = unincorporated community.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry | City · seat | 10,691 | 29108 |
| Whitmire | Town | — | 29178 |
| Prosperity | Town | — | 29127 |
| Little Mountain | Town | — | 29075 |
| Silverstreet | Town | — | 29145 |
| Pomaria | Town | — | 29126 |
| Peak | Town | — | 29122 |
| Helena | CDP | — | — |
| Chappells | Unincorp. | — | 29037 |
| Kinards | Unincorp. | — | 29355 |
| Jalapa | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Stoney Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fairview | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bush River | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Macedonia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Smyrna | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Trinity | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gary | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kibler | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Boyd | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Maybinton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Southeast Newberry | Unincorp. | — | — |
Several old crossroads names on this list — Bachman Chapel, Beth Eden, Brickhouse Crossroads, Browns Crossroads, Cromer Crossroads, Deadfall Crossroads, Devils Cross Roads, Eison Crossroads, Jug Hole, Keitts Crossroads, Living Inn, Longshore, Mudlick, Saint Phillips, Scurry, Slighs, Taylors Crossroads, Union, Vaughanville and Wheeland — are historic rural place names without a confirmed 2020 census presence; they are omitted from the table above pending verification but remain locally recognized locality names.
ZIP Codes
- 29108 — Newberry (also serves the surrounding rural county seat area)
- 29127 — Prosperity
- 29178 — Whitmire
- 29075 — Little Mountain
- 29126 — Pomaria
- 29037 — Chappells
- 29355 — Kinards
- 29145 — Silverstreet
- 29122 — Peak (PO Box only)
Helena and the smaller unincorporated crossroads communities share ZIP codes with the nearest post office town rather than carrying their own.
Geography
Newberry County lies in the South Carolina Piedmont, a rolling landscape of pasture, pine forest and row crops cut by the Broad River, which forms much of its eastern edge, and the Saluda River along part of its southern edge. Lake Greenwood, a reservoir on the Saluda, laps the county’s southwestern corner. Of the county’s 647 square miles, 630 square miles are land and 17 square miles are water.
Newberry County borders Union County to the north, Fairfield County to the east, Lexington County and Richland County to the southeast, Saluda County to the south, Greenwood County to the southwest, and Laurens County to the northwest.
Demographics
Newberry County had 37,719 residents at the 2020 census, a density of roughly 60 people per square mile. Newberry, the county seat, is by far the largest place, followed by Whitmire and Prosperity. Median household income in Newberry County runs below the South Carolina median of $67,804, reflecting the county’s mix of manufacturing and agricultural employment outside the city of Newberry itself.
Economy & Local Life
Manufacturing anchors the county’s economy: Caterpillar, Komatsu, Georgia-Pacific and Kraft Heinz all operate plants here, alongside Samsung’s electrical-equipment facility and Valmont Industries. Newberry College, a small private liberal-arts college founded in 1856, is the city of Newberry’s largest institution and employer outside industry. Farming — cattle, soybeans, cotton and timber — remains part of daily life in the county’s rural townships, and Whitmire and Prosperity both host long-running fall festivals tied to the harvest season.
History
Newberry County was formed in 1785 out of the old Ninety Six District. Its name has no firmly documented origin; the most common local account credits an early settler or a place called Newberry in England, though county historians note no records confirm either story. The county seat, Newberry, grew up around the courthouse and the rail line that reached it in the 1850s, and the restored 1882 Newberry Opera House remains a landmark of the town’s downtown historic district.
Getting There
Interstate 26 crosses the county, alongside US 76 and US 176 and a network of state highways (SC 34, 39, 56, 66, 72, 121, 202, 213, 219, 391, 395 and 560).
- Columbia — 40 miles east
- Greenville — 45 miles northwest
- Spartanburg — 40 miles north
- Greenwood — 25 miles southwest
Columbia Metropolitan Airport is the nearest commercial airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Newberry County?
It is in central South Carolina, on I-26 between Columbia and Greenville.
What is the population of Newberry County?
37,719 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Newberry County?
630 square miles of land and 17 square miles of water, 647 square miles total.
What is the Newberry County seat?
Newberry is the county seat.
How many towns are in Newberry County?
One city (Newberry) and six incorporated towns: Little Mountain, Peak, Pomaria, Prosperity, Silverstreet and Whitmire.
What ZIP codes are in Newberry County?
29037, 29075, 29108, 29122, 29126, 29127, 29145 and 29178.
What college is in Newberry County?
Newberry College, a private liberal-arts college in the city of Newberry founded in 1856.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in South Carolina.