Orangeburg County

Orangeburg County posts a gross rent-to-price ratio of 8.71%, which puts it firmly in cash-flow territory by any conventional measure. The cap rate on a median-priced acquisition comes in at 5.66% at a $162,517 purchase price, which is a real number in a rate environment where financing costs are still elevated. The investable tension here is that the modeled cash-on-cash return is negative at -2.73% when you layer in an 80% LTV mortgage at 6.85%, producing a monthly shortfall of $85 against estimated expenses of $413. That gap is not large in absolute terms, and it closes quickly if you negotiate the purchase price down, bring more equity, or push rents even modestly above the $1,180 median. Meanwhile, home prices appreciated 4.69% year-over-year, so the market is not standing still on the appreciation side either. Orangeburg scores 87 on cash flow and 85 on appreciation out of 100, an unusual combination, and an affordability index of 95 confirms this is one of the cheapest entry points for those metrics anywhere in the country.

The right buyer here is a cash-flow-oriented investor who is either paying down leverage or underwriting conservatively, plus any value-add operator who can move rents above the market median. At $162,517, the acquisition cost is low enough that a $10,000 to $15,000 rehab and a rent bump to $1,300 or $1,350 flips the cash-on-cash math to positive without heroic assumptions. Appreciation buyers are not locked out, but a 4.69% annual price gain is solid rather than spectacular, and the median price base is too low to generate large dollar-denominated equity gains in the near term. The county ranks 13th nationally out of 1,000 counties tracked, hitting the 98th percentile overall and ranking first in South Carolina across 46 counties. An investor who wants pure appreciation upside at scale would need to underwrite a larger market, but someone prioritizing yield-on-cost and low entry risk has a credible case here.

South Carolina's property tax environment is a legitimate tailwind. The state-average effective rate of 0.57% is low, and the propertyTaxFlag confirms it. Combined with an insurance rate of 0.34%, the blended monthly tax-and-insurance carry is $123, which is materially below what investors typically budget in higher-tax states. That figure deserves its own line on your underwrite because it is part of why the cap rate reaches 5.66% despite rents that are only moderate in absolute dollars. As always, the 0.57% figure is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Orangeburg County or township-level rates may differ, so confirm with the county assessor before closing. The low-tax tailwind, however, is structural to South Carolina generally and unlikely to swing dramatically at the county level.

The stability score of 50 is the honest asterisk on everything above. That number sits at the midpoint of the scale and suggests demographic or economic concentration risk that a buyer needs to price in. Orangeburg County has a population of 84,159, which is small enough that a single large employer exit or a sustained enrollment decline at a local institution could meaningfully soften rental demand. Small-market landlords carry tenant-replacement risk that diversified metros absorb more easily, and a vacancy of even one or two months per year compresses cash-on-cash returns in a market where the monthly cushion is already thin at the modeled leverage level. The risk is manageable, not disqualifying, but it argues for underwriting a higher vacancy assumption than you might use in a larger city, and it argues against concentrating a large portfolio here without local operating capacity.

Comparing Orangeburg to its neighbors, the case for staying in this county is almost entirely about price and yield. Florence County, the closest comp with full data, prices at $196,261 with a rent-to-price ratio of 7.47% versus Orangeburg's 8.71%, and its overall score is 70 versus Orangeburg's 79. Richland County (Columbia metro) prices at $238,959 with a ratio of 7.75% and an overall score of 66. Aiken County is at $226,755, a 7.76% ratio, and scores 65. Calhoun County scores 71 with a median price of $207,036 and no rent data provided. Dillon County is the only neighbor cheaper at $144,875, but its overall score of 77 trails Orangeburg's 79. In every head-to-head comparison, Orangeburg delivers a better rent-to-price ratio and a higher composite score than any neighbor with available data. An investor should choose a neighboring county if they want the demand stability of a larger metro like Richland, or if they have specific operational infrastructure in Florence or Aiken. If the priority is maximizing yield at entry and minimizing capital required per door, Orangeburg is the clearest choice in this part of South Carolina.