Central is home to 5,320 people in South Carolina. This skews young, with a median age of 24.0. Owners hold 26% of the housing stock. This is an unusually credentialed place: 56% of adults have a four-year degree. The poverty rate is 30.3%, above the 12.5% national rate. The population has risen by half since 2000, adding 1,798 people.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $60,258, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 24.0
US median: 38.9
More educated
56% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 88%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Central
What changed most since 1990
Median age30.2 → 24.0(−6.2 years)US over the same years: +6.0 years
Homes owned by their occupants45.1% → 26.4%(−18.6 pts)US over the same years: +0.9 pts
Poverty rate15.5% → 30.3%(+14.9 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
Central's population equals 4.0% of Pickens County's. Its number of veterans equals 1.2% of the county's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 10% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)22.8%(18)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)48.1%(38)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era31.6%(25)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War13.9%(11)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 79 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Central, decade by decade
Central population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
2,677
$53,205
$117,363
29.2%
40.4
2000
3,522
$43,481
$136,260
30.2%
46.2
2010
5,159
$34,146
$158,099
43.8%
52.3
2020
5,247
$37,856
$136,354
37.2%
66.4
2024
5,320
$60,258
$256,600
56.1%
73.2
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
