{"id":7354,"date":"2023-08-30T09:53:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T09:53:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7354"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:49:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:49:24","slug":"aiken-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/aiken-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Aiken County, South Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Aiken County is a county in South Carolina, United States, on the Savannah River directly east of Augusta, Georgia. It had a population of 168,808 at the 2020 census, an estimated 174,160 by 2024, and covers 1,070.69 square miles (2,773.1 km2) centred near 33\u00b033\u2032N 81\u00b038\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Aiken is the county seat and largest city; its postal code is 29801. The county holds 3 cities, 7 incorporated towns and 8 named unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 45003.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Aiken County<\/h2>\n<p>Aiken County has 18 verified places on record: 10 incorporated cities and towns and 8 census-designated places (CDPs) with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place; the county&rsquo;s wider gazetteer also carries dozens of small subdivision names &mdash; Aiken Estates, Kalmia Hills, Sandlewood and similar &mdash; that are neighborhoods inside the places below, not separate towns, so they are not listed here.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Aiken<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>32,025<\/td>\n<td>29801<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>North Augusta<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>24,379<\/td>\n<td>29841<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Graniteville<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>2,439<\/td>\n<td>29829<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>New Ellenton<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>2,210<\/td>\n<td>29809<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Belvedere<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>5,380<\/td>\n<td>29841<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Clearwater<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>4,079<\/td>\n<td>29822<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Burnettown<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>3,105<\/td>\n<td>29851<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Langley<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,485<\/td>\n<td>29834<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Jackson<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>1,521<\/td>\n<td>29831<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Beech Island<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,421<\/td>\n<td>29842<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Warrenville<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>1,134<\/td>\n<td>29851<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bath<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>29816<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wagener<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>631<\/td>\n<td>29164<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Monetta<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>205<\/td>\n<td>29105<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Perry<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>194<\/td>\n<td>29137<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vaucluse<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>29850<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Salley<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>329<\/td>\n<td>29137<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Windsor<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>115<\/td>\n<td>29856<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Two pairs on this list share a ZIP. Burnettown and Warrenville both use 29851, since a single Horse Creek Valley post office serves both towns. Perry and Salley both use 29137, delivered from Salley&rsquo;s post office three miles away. Monetta also straddles a county line &mdash; its 205 residents split roughly evenly between Aiken County and Saluda County, and only the Aiken County share counts toward this page. North Augusta likewise crosses into Edgefield County, though almost all of its population lives on the Aiken side.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>29801, 29802, 29803, 29804, 29805, 29808 &mdash; Aiken (the seat&rsquo;s six ZIPs, including PO box ranges)<\/li>\n<li>29841 &mdash; North Augusta and Belvedere<\/li>\n<li>29860, 29861 &mdash; North Augusta<\/li>\n<li>29809 &mdash; New Ellenton<\/li>\n<li>29829 &mdash; Graniteville<\/li>\n<li>29822 &mdash; Clearwater<\/li>\n<li>29851 &mdash; Burnettown and Warrenville<\/li>\n<li>29834 &mdash; Langley<\/li>\n<li>29831 &mdash; Jackson<\/li>\n<li>29842 &mdash; Beech Island<\/li>\n<li>29816 &mdash; Bath<\/li>\n<li>29164 &mdash; Wagener<\/li>\n<li>29105 &mdash; Monetta<\/li>\n<li>29137 &mdash; Perry and Salley<\/li>\n<li>29850 &mdash; Vaucluse<\/li>\n<li>29856 &mdash; Windsor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Every incorporated place and CDP in the county has its own delivery ZIP; none of the 18 rely on a neighboring county&rsquo;s code.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Aiken County sits mostly in the Sandhills, the belt of ancient dune ridges running across the middle of South Carolina, though its northern edge reaches into the Piedmont and its southern edge into the Coastal Plain. Of the county&rsquo;s 1,081 square miles, 1,071 are land and 9.6 are water &mdash; about 0.9 percent, low for the region since the county has no large natural lake. The Savannah River forms the entire western border with Georgia, and the South Fork Edisto River drains the county&rsquo;s northern half. Horse Creek, a Savannah River tributary, runs through the mill-village belt that includes Langley, Clearwater, Warrenville, Burnettown and Graniteville.<\/p>\n<p>Saluda County lies to the north, Lexington County to the northeast, Orangeburg County to the east, Barnwell County to the south, and Edgefield County to the west, with Burke County and Richmond County in Georgia across the Savannah River to the southwest and west. <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/saluda-county\/\">Saluda County<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lexington-county\/\">Lexington County<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/orangeburg-county\/\">Orangeburg County<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/barnwell-county\/\">Barnwell County<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/edgefield-county\/\">Edgefield County<\/a> all border Aiken directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Aiken County had a population of 168,808 at the 2020 census, and Data USA&rsquo;s 2024 estimate puts the county near 174,160 residents. Aiken and North Augusta are by far the two largest communities, together holding well over a third of the county&rsquo;s population. Median household income runs $70,609 (2024 estimate, Data USA), close to South Carolina&rsquo;s statewide figure of $67,804 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 158 people per square mile of land, one of the higher counts in the state outside Charleston, Columbia and Greenville.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 10,912 people, followed by health care and social assistance at 9,520 and retail trade at 8,304. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the managing contractor at the federal Savannah River Site, is the county&rsquo;s largest single employer. Bridgestone runs a tire plant in Graniteville, Kimberly-Clark operates a paper mill near Beech Island, and Aiken Regional Medical Center anchors health care in the city of Aiken. The University of South Carolina Aiken and Aiken Technical College both sit inside the city limits. The county&rsquo;s biggest annual event is the Aiken Steeplechase, a spring horse-racing meet run since 1930 each March that draws crowds from across the Southeast; Salley&rsquo;s Chitlin Strut, a food-and-music festival every November, is the county&rsquo;s other signature gathering.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The South Carolina legislature created Aiken County in 1871, combining parts of Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington and Orangeburg counties, and named it for William Aiken, first president of the South Carolina Railroad Company. Aiken, the city, had already been founded in 1835 as a railroad terminus and became the new county&rsquo;s seat.<\/p>\n<p>In 1950 the federal government chose the county&rsquo;s southwestern corner for the Savannah River Site, a plant built to produce material for nuclear weapons. The project displaced roughly 6,000 people from the towns of Ellenton and Dunbarton; Ellenton&rsquo;s residents moved their houses fourteen miles north and incorporated the new town of New Ellenton in 1952, adopting the motto &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t move away. We just moved.&rdquo; The Savannah River Site remains a major federal employer in the county today.<\/p>\n<p>On 6 January 2005, a Norfolk Southern freight train collided with a parked train in Graniteville, rupturing a tank car of chlorine gas. Nine people died and more than 500 were treated for chlorine exposure, and about 5,400 residents were evacuated for over a week &mdash; one of the deadliest rail chemical accidents in US history.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Interstate 20 crosses the county&rsquo;s northern edge through North Augusta, and I-520 links North Augusta to Augusta, Georgia. US Routes 1, 25, 78 and 278 also run through the county.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Augusta, Georgia &mdash; adjacent, across the Savannah River from North Augusta<\/li>\n<li>Columbia &mdash; northeast, South Carolina&rsquo;s capital<\/li>\n<li>Orangeburg &mdash; east<\/li>\n<li>Barnwell &mdash; south<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Augusta Regional Airport, six miles south of downtown Augusta in Richmond County, Georgia, is the nearest commercial airport, with Delta and American Eagle service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas\/Fort Worth and Washington National. Amtrak&rsquo;s Floridian stops in Denmark, in neighboring Bamberg County to the south, connecting to Savannah, Jacksonville and New York.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Aiken County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in South Carolina&rsquo;s Sandhills region, on the Savannah River directly east of Augusta, Georgia, bordered by Saluda, Lexington, Orangeburg, Barnwell and Edgefield counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Aiken County?<\/strong><br \/>\n168,808 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 174,160.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Aiken County?<\/strong><br \/>\n1,070.69 square miles (2,773.1 km2) of land, plus about 9.6 square miles of water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Aiken County?<\/strong><br \/>\nAiken, incorporated in 1835, is the county seat and largest city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and cities are in Aiken County?<\/strong><br \/>\nTen incorporated places &mdash; Aiken, North Augusta, New Ellenton, Burnettown, Jackson, Perry, Salley, Wagener, Windsor and Monetta (partly) &mdash; plus eight census-designated places: Graniteville, Belvedere, Clearwater, Langley, Beech Island, Warrenville, Bath and Vaucluse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Aiken County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n29801 through 29805 and 29808 for Aiken, 29841\/29860\/29861 for North Augusta, and separate codes for each other town and CDP, down to 29105 for Monetta and 29856 for Windsor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Aiken County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Savannah River Site nuclear complex, the Aiken Steeplechase horse-racing tradition dating to 1930, and Salley&rsquo;s annual Chitlin Strut festival.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/south-carolina\/\">Towns and villages in South Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aiken County is a county in South Carolina, United States, on the Savannah River directly east of Augusta, Georgia. It had a population of 168,808 at the 2020 census, an estimated 174,160 by 2024, and covers 1,070.69 square miles (2,773.1 km2) centred near 33\u00b033\u2032N 81\u00b038\u2032W. Aiken is the county seat and largest city; its postal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Aiken County, South Carolina","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 18 towns, cities and CDPs in Aiken County, South Carolina - type, population and ZIP for each, plus Savannah River Site and Steeplechase history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-south-carolina","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7354"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9557,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7354\/revisions\/9557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}