When it comes to being a snob, there are all types. You’ve got your BBQ Snobs, your Car Snobs, and of course, your Clothes Snobs. Then there are the biggest snobs of all, the City Snobs — as in, I’m better than you because I live in (insert snooty city here).
Now, if you’re reading this from South Carolina, you might think that there’s no way you could be a snob. With your Southern sensibilities, you bask in humble pie.
And while you certainly may be less snooty than the rest of the country, there are always pockets of snobbery in every state and South Carolina is no exception.
So without further ado, here are the 10 snobbiest places in The Palmetto State, starting with our winner, Charleston:
- Charleston (Photos)
- Hilton Head Island (Photos)
- Bluffton (Photos)
- Tega Cay (Photos)
- Mount Pleasant (Photos)
- North Myrtle Beach (Photos)
- Greenville (Photos)
- Fort Mill (Photos)
- Camden (Photos)
- Murrells Inlet
I bet this list surprised no one from Charleston, they are just sitting there nodding their heads in high nosed aloofness.
And to be clear, we didn’t form this list based on our own biases — we relied on the cold hard data. For more on how we ran the numbers, keep on reading. Then we’ll take a closer look at each of our top 10 snobbiest places.
For more South Carolina reading, check out:
- Worst Cities in South Carolina
- Most Dangerous Cities in South Carolina
- Safest Cities in South Carolina
How We Determined The Snobbiest Places In South Carolina
If you’re feeling a bit haughty about these rankings, calm down. See, we relied on facts and figures to create this list not just our opinions of those cities.
We started by making a list of every place in South Carolina over 5,000 people based on the 2013 American Community Survey. That left us with 93 places in South Carolina.
We then looked at the following snob-tastic criteria for each of the places on the list:
- Median home price (Higher is snobbier)
- Median household income (Higher is snobbier)
- Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)
- Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Theaters per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Art galleries per capita (Higher is snobbier)
Next, we ranked each place in each category from one to 93, where the lower the score, the snobbier the place. Finally, we averaged each place’s rankings where the place with the lowest score was crowned ‘The Snobbiest Place In South Carolina’.
Now before we start really making fun—or rather, taking a closer look at our top 10 cities, let’s just be clear: this list may be completely scientifically proven and absolutely irrefutable (hah), but, really, it’s all in good fun. These aren’t bad places to live in South Carolina, so don’t get that idea.
If you’d like to see more than these top 10, feel free to head down to the bottom of the post for a look at the full list. Otherwise time to put on your monocle as we examine the snobbiest places in South Carolina.
1. Charleston
Population: 120,903
Median Household Income: $50,873
Median Home Price: $255,600
Charleston is old school snob — the original and biggest snob of South Carolina.
It’s the oldest place in South Carolina and will be happy to tell you its long, long history. Just check out the the 11,500+ word Wikipedia page. That’s at least 40 pages of Charleston people being snotty about how great Charleston is.
In addition to crazy long Wikipedia entries, it also has the fifth highest home prices in South Carolina, the eighth most college education citizens, and the fifth most galleries per capita. For example, you can check out the bastion of snobbiness that is ‘The Spoleto Festival’ — internationally recognized as America’s premier performing arts festival.
Sounds snob-tastic to us.
2. Hilton Head Island
Population: 37,420
Median Household Income: $70,041
Median Home Price: $477,100
Hilton Head ranks as the second snobbiest place in South Carolina. And it’s so snobby it actually has a moat around itself to keep the common folk out.
In fact, you need to pass the snobby tourist test in order to gain entrance.
Bringing the conversation back to the data, Hilton Head ranks as having the highest home prices in the Palmetto State. And, if you need something snobby to do, check out one of the galleries; it ranks as having the eighth most per capita in South Carolina.
3. Bluffton
Population: 12,186
Median Household Income: $63,614
Median Home Price: $229,900
Bluffton is the slightly less snobby little brother of Hilton Head. A mere twelve minutes away, its snobbiness is only dwarfed by snob mecca next to it.
The ‘Lowcountry Town’ has been taking its snobby seriousness for generations. In one of the most brazen displays of snobbiness, Bluffton gave birth to the seccession movement which caused South Carolina to be the first state to leave the Union.
Luckily for the current generation, the town is getting its comeuppance right now as we point out that it has the second most private schools per capita and the second most galleries per capita in the Palmetto State.
So everyway you turn there are modern day shrines of snobbishness.
4. Tega Cay
Population: 7,595
Median Household Income: $110,236
Median Home Price: $280,400
Wow, rich people live in Tega Cay, the fourth snobbiest place in South Carolina.
The ‘planned city’ ranks as having the highest median income of any place in South Carolina, so now we all know that ‘planned’ really means ‘exculsive rich enclave of snottiness’.
It has the second most college educated adults per capita and the second most theaters per capita in South Carolina. The ‘Beautiful Pennisula’ should consider changing its nickname to the ‘Pretentious Pennisula’. Sounds a bit better.
5. Mount Pleasant
Population: 67,963
Median Household Income: $76,228
Median Home Price: $350,100
Mount Pleasant ranks as the fifth snobbiest place in South Carolina, pleasantly of course.
It wants you to know that while it is not a city, it is, in fact a ‘large suburban town’. And like a snobby suburb, it has the second most expensive homes in the state and the third highest percentage of college educated citizens.
However, a lack of snobby things to do prevented the large suburb from appearing on higher on this list. Pleasantly.
6. North Myrtle Beach
Population: 13,926
Median Household Income: $46,366
Median Home Price: $248,800
Not to be confused with the every-day-man’s Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach ranks as the sixth snobbiest place in the Palmetto State.
Unlike Mount Pleasant, North Myrtle Beach is a mecca for snobby things to do. It’s the only place that ranks in the top ten for private schools, theaters, and galleries per capita.
So while the price of admission to the town isn’t high, it tries to keep up snob-ppearances as much as possible.
7. Greenville
Population: 59,261
Median Household Income: $41,553
Median Home Price: $201,200
The seventh snobbiest place in South Carolina goes to Greenville.
Armed with a Main Street that has somehow won awards, the town has the seventh most galleries per capita and the eighth most theaters per capita of any place in the Palmetto State.
It also ranks as having the tenth most college educated adults per capita. So the people shopping on the award winning street probably know they’re smarter than you.
8. Fort Mill
Population: 10,912
Median Household Income: $66,915
Median Home Price: $180,300
Fortifing itself in the top ten snobbiest places in South Carolina is Fort Mill.
The township is home to the, I kid you not, DCI World Champion Carolina Drum and Bugle Corps, which sounds like what snobs must go to watch on Sundays while the rest of the country watches football.
But when the town isn’t listening to bugles, it’s studying at a private school (of which is has the third most per capita) or flaunting the sixth highest median income in the state.
9. Camden
Population: 6,852
Median Household Income: $49,986
Median Home Price: $168,600
The county seat of Kershaw county should think of applying for the title of the County Snob — Camden is the ninth snobbiest place in South Carolina.
The city has the seventh most theaters per capita and third most galleries per capita of any place in South Carolina, which it needs to maintain the ‘long history and many years of wealthy winter visitors and deep-pocket northern owners’ coming into town.
In other words, it’s a town for snowbird snobs.
10. Murrells Inlet
Population: 7,641
Median Household Income: $50,260
Median Home Price: $232,500
Murrells Inlet breaks into the top ten snobbiest places in South Carolina and earns the right to change its nickname from the ‘Seafood Capital of South Carolina’ to something more fitting. How about the ‘Seafood Snob Capital of South Carolina’.
That self proclaimed great seafood has caused the home prices to rank as ninth highest place in the Palmetto State. And the ninth most theaters per capita means you can enjoy the seafood in snobby style.
A definite inlet for snobs.
