Williamsburg County, South Carolina Eviction Risk: Low

Williamsburg County sits in the higher-risk of South Carolina eviction laws's 46 counties for eviction risk, scoring 2.8/10 (Low) and ranking 13th of 46 statewide - meaning 12 counties carry higher tenant-protection pressure on landlords. That placement reflects a combination of economic stress and a landlord-friendly legal framework that, together, produce a risk profile worth understanding before acquiring or managing rental property here.

The county's five tracked cities span a narrow range from 2.4 to 2.9/10. Kingstree, the county seat and largest community with roughly 3,132 residents, posts the highest local reading at 2.9/10. Kingstree accounts for the bulk of rental activity in the county and is where most contested eviction filings originate. Stuckey comes in at 2.8/10, while Lane and Greeleyville each score 2.6/10 and 2.6/10 respectively. Hemingway is the most landlord-favorable market in the county at 2.4/10, though its rental stock is limited to around 660 residents total. The tight spread across all five cities - under half a point - means that macro-level county factors (poverty rate, rent burden, and state statute) drive more of the risk picture than local variation does.

Those macro factors deserve attention. Williamsburg County carries a 27.7% poverty rate and a 28.7% average rent burden, with renters making up 41.5% of occupied households and paying an average of $641 per month. High poverty combined with moderate rent burden creates a pool of renters who are structurally close to non-payment situations even during periods of economic stability. That said, South Carolina eviction laws's landlord-tenant statute (S.C. Code § 27-40) keeps the legal environment firmly landlord-favorable: no rent control is permitted anywhere in the state, just cause is not required to terminate a tenancy, and source-of-income discrimination is not prohibited under state law. A landlord issuing a 5-day pay-or-quit notice for non-payment, or a 30-day no-cause termination notice, operates within clear statutory authority. Court filing fees run $110 to $200, with uncontested matters typically resolving in 21 to 45 days and contested cases extending to 45 to 100 days - timelines that are competitive with most southeastern markets. Compared to the South Carolina eviction laws average of 2.5/10, Williamsburg's score reflects the economic vulnerability of its tenant base rather than any unusual statutory restriction on landlord rights.

Williamsburg County's Low risk designation reflects a familiar rural South Carolina eviction laws pattern: an economically stressed renter population operating under one of the more landlord-favorable statutory frameworks in the Southeast. The county's 27.7% poverty rate and thin local rental market - roughly 4,908 tracked residents across five cities - mean that individual property performance can vary significantly from the county average, but the legal tools available to landlords remain consistent and well-defined throughout.