CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

33.52° N · 80.84° W · GEOID 4509527

Brookdale

Orangeburg County, South Carolina · part of the Orangeburg, SC metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_gross_rent

South CarolinaBrookdale, SCBrookdaleBrookdale

The short answer

Brookdale is home to 4,291 people. Median household income is $39,449 a year and median rent is $841 a month, 25.6% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is moderate. The median home is valued at $96,500, about 2.5x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$841
38% below the median place
Median household income
$39,449
51% below the median place
Median home value
$96,500
70% below the median place
Unemployment
8.3%
70% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Brookdale

  • 34.8% of residents live below the poverty line, more than in 98% of the 2,082 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-highest of 96 South Carolina places.
  • The median home is valued at $96,500, less than in 96% of places its size. It is the 2nd-lowest of 101 South Carolina places.
  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 9.7% a year while rent rose 2.1%, so pay gained on rent more than in 95% of places its size.
  • 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, a smaller share than in 92% of places its size. It is the 3rd-lowest of 101 South Carolina places.
  • 35% of homes stand vacant, more than in 96% of places its size.
01

Moving to Brookdale

Orangeburg County loses about 4.7 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in3,004
Moved out3,281
Net−277

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Dorchester County, SC288265+23
Calhoun County, SC126186−60
Bamberg County, SC148143+5

Within South Carolina, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within South CarolinaOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$44K
Leavers$43K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Orangeburg County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.1% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.9% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Orangeburg County report $43,900 a year in income on average; those leaving, $43,200.
Income you would need
$33,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $841 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,354 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $96,500.
Getting to work
25 minutes each way on average; 6.7% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Cairo, GA matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving out6
$43,217
39% below the median place
Income of households moving in6
$43,888
38% below the median place
Moved from another state1
0.9%
55% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureBrookdaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.1%29% below
Moved from another state1County figure0.9%55% below
Net movers per 1,000 people6County figure-4.7below (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in6County figure$43,88838% below
Income of households moving out6County figure$43,21739% below
02

What it costs to live here

Vacant homes is 34.6%, 390% above the median place.

Brookdale25.6%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$33,640
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
25.6%
25% above the median place
Home price to income
2.5x
36% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
26%
just under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$28,900
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Brookdale, $841 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Brookdale, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Anadarko, OK21.6% vs 25.6%n/aCompare
Center, TX20.5% vs 25.6%n/aCompare
Mercedes, TX20.8% vs 25.6%n/aCompare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Brookdale.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Brookdale? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Vacant homes1
34.6%
390% above the median place
Property tax paid (median)1
$635
81% below the median place
Median home value1
$96,500
70% below the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureBrookdaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1County figure$84138% below
Rent to income125.6%25% above
Property tax rate10.7%27% below
Home price to income12.5x36% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$90644% below
HUD area median income3County figure$73,30032% below
Property tax paid (median)1$63581% below
Median home value1$96,50070% below
Home prices, 1-year change4County figure2.7%15% below
Home prices, 5-year change4County figure53.9%5% above
Homeownership145.9%31% below
Renters paying 30%+1County figure54.4%8% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,35428% below
Vacant homes134.6%390% above
Median year built119770% below
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Poverty rate1
34.8%
223% above the median place
Median household income1
$39,449
51% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureBrookdaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$39,44951% below
Income per person1$21,92745% below
Unemployment1County figure8.3%70% above
Average annual pay5County figure$48,88326% below
Pay growth, 1 year5County figure-9.9%below (median 3.7%)
Jobs5County figure27,18182% below
Poverty rate134.8%223% above
Mean commute125 min2% above
Works from home1County figure6.7%46% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Homes with broadband is 76.5%, 17% below the median place.

Homes with broadband1
76.5%
17% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
12.6%
61% below the median place
High school or higher1
79.8%
14% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Median age32.9 −16%
No health insurance12.4% +94%
Household size2.5 −0%
All 8 people measures
MeasureBrookdaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population14,2916646th largest
Median age132.916% below
Bachelor's or higher112.6%61% below
High school or higher179.8%14% below
Household size12.50% below
Born abroad1County figure2.2%75% below
No health insurance112.4%94% above
Homes with broadband176.5%17% below
05

Life in Brookdale

42 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents9.3 −8%
Playgrounds per 10k14.0 +49%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k4.7 −58%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars18.4 −12%
Shops41.7 +38%
Arts, recreation and fitness1.7 −59%
Doctors' offices and clinics14.5 −28%
Child care centers3.0 +30%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7
1.7
59% below the median place
Shops per 10k7
41.7
38% above the median place
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7
14.5
28% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureBrookdaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools10County figure32256% above
Public school students10County figure11,134127% above
Students per teacher10County figure14.65% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k7County figure18.412% below
Shops per 10k7County figure41.738% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k7County figure1.759% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k7County figure14.528% below
Child care centers per 10k7County figure3.030% above
Parks per 10k89.38% below
Playgrounds per 10k814.049% above
Grocery stores per 10k80.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k84.758% below
Libraries per 10k80.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails80.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi80.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings9County figure42223% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

July average high is 92°F, 6% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Brookdale. Larger places are fetched first.

July average high11
92°F
6% above the median place
Hurricane risk12
95.3
35% above the median place
Average temperature11
65°F
18% above the median place
All 9 weather and risk measures
MeasureBrookdaleAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high11County figure92°F6% above
January average low11County figure35°F40% above
Average temperature11County figure65°F18% above
Annual precipitation11County figure47.9 in9% above
Natural hazard risk12County figure87.75% below
Hurricane risk12County figure95.335% above
Tornado risk12County figure66.319% below
Wildfire risk12County figure79.931% above
Heat wave risk12County figure81.69% below
08

Brookdale in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 20% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 21% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$678/mo (2024)$860/mo$700 to $1,040/mo+4.0%
Median household income$39,449 (2024)$51,000$43,000 to $60,000+4.3%
Median home value$96,500 (2024)$132,000$96,000 to $182,000+5.4%

The median home would be worth 2.6 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.4 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Brookdale

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Cairo, GA$778$40,920Compare
Seminole, OK$744$39,121Compare
San Benito, TX$839$43,639Compare
Anadarko, OK$775$43,105Compare
Anadarko, OKSan Benito, TXSeminole, OKCairo, GABrookdale, SCBrookdaleCairoSeminoleSan BenitoAnadarkoBrookdaleCairoSeminoleSan BenitoAnadarko

Common questions

Is Brookdale a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. 34.8% of residents live below the poverty line, more than in 98% of the 2,082 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 3rd-highest of 96 South Carolina places. The median home is valued at $96,500, less than in 96% of places its size. It is the 2nd-lowest of 101 South Carolina places. On cost, space and class size it scores 17 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Brookdale expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 25.6% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $96,500.

What salary do you need to live in Brookdale?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $33,640 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Brookdale?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Cairo, GA, Seminole, OK, San Benito, TX and Anadarko, OK.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  4. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  5. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  6. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  7. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  8. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  9. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  10. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  11. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  12. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Brookdale with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Brookdale itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/brookdale-south-carolina

Citytistics. “Brookdale, South Carolina.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/brookdale-south-carolina/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.