Aiken County, South Carolina Eviction Risk: Low

Aiken County, South Carolina carries a 2.5/10 Moderate eviction-risk score, placing it 18th of 46 South Carolina eviction laws counties, meaning 17 counties are riskier and 28 are more landlord-friendly. For investors evaluating this market, that middle-of-the-state position reflects a workable but not frictionless operating environment. Across 16 cities, scores span a tight band from 3.9 to 5, and with roughly 30.5% of residents renting at an average rent of $1,089, the tenant base is meaningful in size.

A 29.9% average rent burden and a 14.1% poverty rate across the county indicate a tenant population carrying real financial stress, which is the primary driver of eviction-risk scores in mid-range markets like this one. Neither an easy layup nor a minefield, Aiken County rewards landlords who have solid screening and lease enforcement habits in place before a problem arises.

The cities inside Aiken County

Risk is not evenly distributed across the county. Clearwater (population 3,319) and Graniteville (population 2,056) both score 5/10, the highest readings in the county, making them the spots where landlords face the most tenant-side financial pressure and should price that into their acquisition calculus. The county seat, Aiken (population 32,521), and North Augusta (population 25,653) each score 2.5/10, so the two largest population centers sit just below the peak-risk tier but still above the county average.

At the more landlord-friendly end, New Ellenton scores 4.4/10, the lowest in the county, and the minimum across all 16 cities is 3.9. That spread of roughly one full point from floor to ceiling is meaningful: a portfolio concentrated in the lower-risk cities carries materially different risk exposure than one spread across the county's higher-scoring markets. Investors should score each acquisition address individually rather than treating the county average as representative.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Aiken County operates under the South Carolina eviction laws Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code § 27-40. For non-payment of rent, the required notice period is 5 days. A lease-violation cure notice requires 14 days, and a no-cause end-of-term notice requires 30 days. Landlords must give 24 hours notice before entering a unit under S.C. Code § 27-40-440. South Carolina eviction laws does not require just cause for termination, and state law preempts local rent-control ordinances, so no municipality in Aiken County can impose a rent cap. Full details of the South Carolina eviction laws eviction process and the South Carolina eviction costs are covered in the statewide guides.

On costs, the court filing fee runs $110 to $200, sheriff lockout fees run $25 to $100, and attorney fees, if needed, typically run $500 to $2,500. An uncontested case resolves in roughly 21 to 45 days; a contested case can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Those timelines and fee ranges are the floor assumptions for any Aiken County deal model.

With a 14.1% poverty rate and 30.5% of households renting, financial fragility among tenants is real in Aiken County; the city grid above breaks out how that risk concentrates, city by city, so investors can identify the specific markets that fit their risk tolerance.