Where are all these people coming from? Here’s a breakdown of Rock Hill region growth
Fort Mill, Indian Land, Lake Wylie and other spots across the Rock Hill region continue to grow rapidly. So, where are all these new residents coming from anyway?
The U.S. Census Bureau offers some answers through newly released figures from its American Community Survey. State-to-county migration flow estimates for 2017-21 reveal where residents lived a year prior to the survey. Many moves are local. Some are from a world away.
The estimates come just days after new census figures that show South Carolina with a nation-high 1.7% growth rate from mid-2022 to mid-2023. North Carolina is tied for fourth highest at 1.3%. South Carolina is fifth in total growth at more than 90,000 people. Only Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia rank higher.
Here’s a look at how all of these new neighbors got here:
New data detail pricey houses, rising home values and falling rent in the Rock Hill area
York County residents come from SC, NC, Asia
Most of the 38,106 new York County residents come from the Carolinas.
In-state moves account for 36% of the new residents. Another 26% come from North Carolina, while former New York residents account for 5% of moves. About 3% each come from Florida, California and Texas.
Missouri, Ohio and Virginia also rank higher than South Carolina’s only other neighboring state, Georgia.
About 14% of York County residents had moved within the past year of being surveyed, according to the data. Of new residents who moved from elsewhere in South Carolina, about 68% come from moves within York County, compared to 32% from other counties.
York County has the ninth most in-state moves among all counties in South Carolina. York County also has more moves from any one place outside the state (North Carolina) than any other county in South Carolina has. That’s to be expected for a county on the state line between the Carolinas.
York County is No. 6 statewide for international moves.
Moves from Asia make up 2% of the York County total. York County has more newcomers from Asia than from any state outside the Carolinas, New York, Florida, California or Texas. There are more moves from Asia than from the rest of the world outside the U.S., combined.
Asia has about 2 1/2 times the moves of the next closest area, Europe.
Lancaster County moves from NC, SC, Virginia
More new Lancaster County residents come from North Carolina than anywhere else.
Almost 39% of the moves are from North Carolina, followed by 35% from South Carolina, 5% from Virginia, 4% from Florida and 3% from Tennessee. At 2%, the next highest listing is from Oceana and at Sea, or South Pacific island nations.
About 12.5% of Lancaster County residents moved within a year of being surveyed. About 62% of in-state moves come from within Lancaster County.
Lancaster County has the fourth most moves from North Carolina (or anywhere else outside South Carolina) statewide, behind only the much larger York, Richland and Horry counties.
Unlike York County, far fewer new residents come from Asia in Lancaster County than from any other listed international area. The Oceana group brings about twice as many new residents as the next nearest spot, Europe.
Chester County adds SC residents
About 8% of Chester County changed addresses in the year prior to being surveyed. Almost three in four newcomers, 74%, come from South Carolina. Those movers are split almost evenly between new residents from another county (52%) and from Chester County (48%).
North Carolina transplants come in at 17%. Next are Michigan (3%), Kentucky (2%) and Virginia (1%). The next three locales are about 1% each — Europe, the Caribbean and the U.S. islands.
More workers, home sales impact moves
Increased commercial and residential growth have long been associated with Charlotte metro communities on the South Carolina side of the state line. Low unemployment and high population swells are common in Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie and nearby communities, in comparison with other areas of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce issues monthly job updates that routinely note new state records for employment. An update Friday shows almost 2.4 million total workers in November is up more than 5,000 workers in a month and 104,000 workers in a year. Unemployment sits at 3%.
“People are entering the workforce and finding jobs,” workforce department executive director William Floyd said in an announcement with the new figures.
Home sales in the Rock Hill region continue to lag behind what they were a year ago. Still, there are hot spots.
Canopy Realtor Association reports the city of York had sales up almost 12% from November 2022 to 2023. Year-to-year pending contract upticks in Fort Mill (9.5%), Rock Hill (9.3%), Clover (4.5%), Lancaster (3.8%) and York (2.6%) lead an overall increase across York, Lancaster and Chester counties.
“The York-area housing market has been on a trajectory of high-growth for several years now, and this will continue in 2024,” Canopy board member and EXP Realty, Fort Mill broker Colleen Coesens said in a release last week.
New census data show how Rock Hill, Fort Mill areas changed over last decade
