Aiken County, South Carolina

Aiken County is a county in South Carolina. The population of the county is 160,099.

 Named for
 County seat
 Population
 Habitat
 Cong. District
 County Guildmaster
 Time Zone

## Major roads

Interstate 20

Interstate 520

US Route 1

US Route 25

US Route 25 Business

US Route 78

US Route 278

South Carolina Highway 4

South Carolina Highway 19

South Carolina Highway 28

South Carolina Highway 39

South Carolina Highway 113

South Carolina Highway 118

South Carolina Highway 121

South Carolina Highway 125

South Carolina Highway 126

South Carolina Highway 191

South Carolina Highway 230

South Carolina Highway 302

South Carolina Highway 389

South Carolina Highway 391

South Carolina Highway 392

South Carolina Highway 394

South Carolina Highway 421

South Carolina Highway 781

## Geography

### Adjacent counties

Orangeburg County (east)

Saluda County (north)

Lexington County (northeast)

Edgefield County (northwest)

Burke County, Georgia (south)

Barnwell County (southeast)

Richmond County, Georgia (west)

## Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the county is:

67.01% White (107,282)

25.03% Black or African American (40,072)

5.31% Hispanic or Latino (8,501)

2.65% Other (4,244)

16.0% (25,615) of Aiken County residents live below the poverty line.

## Theft rate statistics

Aiken County has above average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The county reported 74 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 3.41 murders a year.

## Communities

### Cities

Aiken - 29,524

North Augusta - 21,348

### Towns

Burnettown - 2,673

Jackson - 1,700

Monetta - 236 (partly in Saluda County)

New Ellenton - 2,052

Perry - 233

Salley - 398

Wagener - 797

Windsor - 121

### CDPs

Belvedere - 5,792

Clearwater - 4,370

Gloverville - 2,831

Graniteville - 2,614

Langley - 1,447

Warrenville - 1,233

### Unincorporated communities

Bath

Beech Island

Belltown

Berlin

Camp Long

Camp Rawls

Ellenton (partly in Barnwell County)

Laurel Lakes

Montmorenci

Seivern

Spiderweb

Talatha

Vaucluse

White Pond

## Climate

 Average yearly snowfall
 Average yearly sunny days
 Severe storm risk
 Tornado risk
 Blizzard risk

## Fun facts

* Aiken is the fourth-largest county in South Carolina by land area.
* Politically, Aiken County is powerfully Republican in most elections.
* On January 6, 2005 in Graniteville, a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train struck a parked train on the spur leading to Avondale's Stevens Steam Plant. One of two train cars that were carrying liquid chlorine ruptured, releasing a poisonous chlorine cloud. Nine people were killed, more than 550 injured, and more than 5,400 were displaced from their homes for more than a week. The town built a memorial in a small park at the intersection of Canal Street and Aiken Road, and on May 20, 2006, the memorial was dedicated to the people who died in the crash.
	+ Avondale closed or sold off all of its plants in the area in 2006, unable to recover financially from the train accident in 2005.
* Graniteville is also home to a Bridgestone/Firestone Tire and Rubber Company plant.
* The Aiken County Electric Mills are located near Wagener.
* In the 1920s and 30s, asparagus was grown in Wagener and exported across America. During the same period, cotton became a successful product and huge bales lined the streets awaiting departure via train. The children of Wagener frolicked among the hay bales during their games of hide-n-seek. A central town park is located where the railroad beds were.
* Salley is known for hosting the Chitlin Strut, a town-wide festival, every November.
* Windsor is a bit of a speed trap.
* Aiken Technical College is located near Gloverville.