Lexington’s ACS population is 24,585 (interval of 36), which ranks the town 25th among South Carolina’s incorporated places for 2020 through 2024. It sits in Lexington County and in the Columbia, SC metro. Owner-occupied houses typically come in at $297,700 (interval of $10,146). That reading is about 27 percent higher than Lexington County at $234,500 and about 15 percent higher than South Carolina’s $259,000 owner-home midpoint. Household pay typically lands at $87,126 (interval of $10,332), about 26 percent above South Carolina at $69,324 and above Lexington County at $77,408. The house-to-pay pairing is about 3.4 years of local earnings, versus about 3.0 years across Lexington County, because in-town prices run higher than the rest of the county, and pay runs higher as well.
Files for Lexington are priced from Charlotte, roughly 88 miles north. Ask for suite 1933 once you reach the South Tryon Street building numbered 128. The license printed on that work is company NMLS 2468711. Borrowers typically send documents online; an appointment at the Charlotte desk can be set if a borrower wants to sit down in person.
A $297,700 midpoint sitting 27 percent above Lexington County
Set beside other Midlands towns, the $297,700 Lexington midpoint sits above West Columbia ($201,700), Irmo ($203,400) and Columbia ($264,300) and below Blythewood ($384,600). The 27 percent gap versus Lexington County is the town’s most useful value contrast: in-town prices run higher than the rest of Lexington County even though both share the same printed loan ceilings. America by Place places Lexington values above about 81 percent of South Carolina places that publish the item. The typical resident is 39.0 years old, with a 1.6-year Census interval, close to the statewide age of 40.2 and the national age of 38.9. People under 18 make up 24.1 percent of the town, above South Carolina’s under-18 share of 21.4 percent. Residents 65 and older make up 16.3 percent, a bit under the statewide senior share of 18.9 percent.
When poverty status is known, 7.4 percent of Lexington residents live below the federal poverty line, with a 1.8-point Census interval, well under South Carolina’s 14.1 percent rate and under about 87 percent of South Carolina cities that publish a poverty rate. Among adults age 25 or older, 95.1 percent have completed high school, with a 4.8-point Census interval, and 50.7 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, with a 3.7-point Census interval. That bachelor’s share sits well above South Carolina’s 32.1 percent bachelor’s reading and above about 91 percent of the state’s cities that publish the item. Foreign-born residents make up about 10.1 percent of Lexington (interval of 2.1 points); America by Place ranks that foreign-born share above about 86 percent of the state’s cities. Roughly 4.1 percent of households are without internet (Census interval 1.6 points). About 14.2 percent of workers usually work from home, with a 2.4-point Census interval, above the statewide 11.5 percent share.
A 2002-centered stock with an unusually large apartment slice
Lexington contains 10,348 housing units in the ACS. Detached houses number 6,661, or 64.4 percent of the stock, close to South Carolina’s 64.5 percent detached share and thinner than Lexington County at 70.5 percent. Townhouse-style attached homes add 653 dwellings (6.3 percent). Duplexes account for 176 units (1.7 percent). Buildings with three or four units contain 97 homes (0.9 percent). The 5-9 band holds 749 (7.2 percent). The 10-19 band holds 544 (5.3 percent). Buildings from 20 through 49 units contain 721 homes (7.0 percent), and buildings with 50 units or more contain 447 (4.3 percent). Mobile homes number 300, or 2.9 percent of the town stock.
Taken as a group, 23.8 percent of Lexington units sit in five-plus-unit stock, versus only 7.3 percent of Lexington County units in that group and 12.9 percent statewide. Ten-plus-unit buildings hold 16.5 percent of the town stock. A condo or apartment purchase in those buildings usually involves collecting the association packet and, when the loan is FHA or VA, completing project review. Most Lexington housing dates to around 2002, newer than Lexington County housing (1993) and newer than statewide housing (1992). Lexington is the newer town inside an older county. About 5.5 percent of the 10,348 units sit vacant (Census interval 2.0 points). The town has 9,778 occupied households: 6,721 owners and 3,057 renters.
Why 50.7 percent of adults hold a bachelor's degree
Household pay of $87,126 sits about 26 percent above South Carolina at $69,324 and above Lexington County at $77,408. America by Place places that pay reading above about 88 percent of the state’s cities. Combined with a 50.7 percent bachelor’s share, the pay reading helps explain how Lexington can support a $297,700 typical house and still land at about 3.4 years of local earnings, a pairing that leaves room relative to many higher-cost cities. Ownership covers 68.7 percent of households, with a 2.7-point Census interval. Lexington County owners fill 77.4 percent, and South Carolina owners fill 71.9 percent, so ownership inside the town trails both even though town houses cost more. A first mortgage remains on 73.2 percent of Lexington owner-homes, well above the county mortgaged share of 63.0 percent and South Carolina’s 57.1 percent mortgaged share. Owners usually arrived around 2014, and renters around 2020. Local owner-tax bills center near $1,541, well above Lexington County’s $1,151 tax midpoint, because town millage is added to the county levy.
Typical rent runs $1,545 a month (interval of $83), well above Lexington County rent of $1,178 and above South Carolina rent of $1,180. America by Place places that rent midpoint above about 92 percent of the state’s cities. Even so, 46.9 percent of Lexington renters face a 30-percent-or-higher rent burden, a bit under the county share of 48.2 percent and under the statewide share of 52.1 percent. About 21.1 percent of renters keep the rent check under a 20-percent share of pay. Another 32.0 percent fall in the twenty-to-just-under-thirty band. About 24.7 percent send half their paycheck, or more, to the landlord. Adults who have served make up 9.8 percent of Lexington residents, a bit above Lexington County at 9.0 percent; we still place a VA quote beside a conventional quote whenever service history qualifies. The town’s ACS jobless reading is 5.2 percent (Census interval 2.1 points).
Printed 2026 stops after a $263,000 HUD price estimate
Every Lexington address falls inside Lexington County, and the county’s 2026 printed caps apply. FHA will go as high as $541,287 on one house. A conventional mortgage stays inside FHFA’s conforming band up to $832,750. HUD’s Columbia-metro price reading of $263,000 is why the FHA cap sits on the nationwide floor rather than printing a higher local step. Both the $297,700 typical house and $307,846 after adding the $10,146 Census interval fit comfortably under Lexington County’s $541,287 FHA cap. The way FHA premiums are billed is described on the FHA explainer.
For a Lexington two-unit property, conventional financing can run through $1,066,250 without leaving the conforming band, or FHA can run through $693,050. Those higher steps track the number of units the appraisal records. When a borrower needs additional funds at closing, we check Lexington County’s latest income and price cells on the published HomeLimits schedule rather than repeating numbers from an older flyer. A statewide overview of those programs lives on our South Carolina home-loan guide. Investors weighing rental financing around Lexington can review the DSCR page.
West Columbia seven miles down the road
A seven-mile trip reaches West Columbia, a city of 17,963. Typical owner-homes there land near $201,700 on household pay of about $56,912, and 55.3 percent of households own. Irmo is about eight miles out: 11,813 people living with an owner-home midpoint near $203,400, household pay near $80,489 and ownership of 81.6 percent. Cayce, about eleven miles, counts 13,741 people with an owner-home midpoint near $166,800, household pay near $62,045 and ownership of 60.5 percent. Forest Acres is about fifteen miles out (10,530 people) with owner-homes clustered around $279,300 and pay near $78,306. Columbia, about eighteen miles, has 139,643 people, owner-homes clustered around $264,300, pay near $55,529 and ownership of 45.5 percent. Blythewood, about twenty miles, has 5,731 residents with owner-homes clustered around $384,600 and pay near $94,167. Newberry is about twenty-nine miles: 10,790 people, with an owner-home midpoint near $142,400 and household pay near $51,260. Camden, about forty miles, counts 8,267 people, owner-homes clustered around $265,300 and pay near $63,576. Inside Lexington County, Batesburg-Leesville’s 4,941 residents have owner-homes near $135,100 on pay near $49,646, with ownership at 68.4 percent, and Springdale’s 2,742 residents have owner-homes near $221,700 on pay near $77,722, with ownership at 69.7 percent. Nearby midpoints therefore run from Newberry at $142,400 up to Blythewood at $384,600. Lexington at $297,700 sits toward the upper side of that range, clearly above the rest of Lexington County.
1,135 Lexington County listings and a 51-day wait
Realtor.com does not publish a Lexington-only cut, so the market figures below cover Lexington County overall. Realtor.com’s county file last September listed 1,135 active homes and a midpoint ask of $322,357, roughly even with the prior September. Shoppers typically waited about 51 days from list to contract, and 26.5 percent of sellers had already posted a lower ask. That $322,357 county midpoint ask sits above Lexington’s $297,700 ACS owner-home value, as the county tape folds in higher-priced streets outside the town plus lower-priced county communities such as Batesburg-Leesville. Any given Lexington street may price over or under either of those marks. Buyers comparing a townhouse near the apartment slice with a detached house on a quieter street should expect those two products to price very differently even when both sit inside the same printed caps.
Lexington County’s jobless rate last September was 3.2 percent in the BLS file that omits seasonal adjustment. Lexington’s own ACS jobless reading of 5.2 percent covers 2020 through 2024 and carries a 2.1-point interval. Neither figure replaces the income papers we collect from a borrower.
City tax bills that run above the rest of Lexington County
Anyone planning to occupy the Lexington house as a primary residence should contact the Lexington County assessor after closing and ask about occupied-home classification. Under statute 12-43-220, owner-occupied houses, vacation homes and investment properties fall into different assessment buckets. Exemption summaries that apply across South Carolina sit on the Department of Revenue exemptions page. Filing dates come from the Lexington County assessor, not from that statewide page.
If water or a drainage ditch sits next to the Lexington lot, open FEMA’s flood map before you submit an offer. Closings in Lexington are run by a South Carolina attorney the buyer picks. Earnest money and inspection timing belong in the purchase contract. Typical headings from a two-Carolina settlement statement appear on our two-Carolina costs page.
See also: Lexington County, Columbia, Aiken, Sumter and South Carolina.
Notes from people who closed a Lexington or Midlands file
Comments appear in the wording reviewers typed. A handful mention Lexington, Irmo, West Columbia or another Midlands community.
Where the Lexington statistics on this page come from
Lexington’s population, housing mix and neighboring-city comparisons are taken from the 2020-2024 ACS release as posted by Census Reporter and America by Place. Listing counts, midpoint asks and days-to-contract come from Realtor.com’s Lexington County tape for September 2026. FHFA sets the conventional caps. HUD sets the FHA caps, and after assigning the Columbia metro a $263,000 price estimate it kept the single-unit FHA cap at $541,287, the nationwide floor. The 3.2 percent Lexington County jobless reading last September is from BLS, in the file that omits seasonal adjustment.
How we estimate a Lexington payment for one parcel
A Lexington payment estimate starts with principal and interest, then adds that parcel’s millage, a homeowners policy fitted to a stock that typically dates to 2002, flood coverage if the lot maps into a risk zone, and any association charge a neighborhood bills. The $1,541 ACS owner-tax midpoint is a townwide number, not the bill for a single street.
Once the deed is in, ask the Lexington County assessor how to claim occupied-home status if the house will be your home. Sharing the written reply lets us check whether the tax cushion inside escrow looks right.
Using home equity after a Lexington purchase
If a Lexington owner later wants cash without replacing the first mortgage, the HELOC page is the starting point. Using those funds to help buy a second house is sketched on the bridge explainer. The sections above this note describe buying, not tapping equity.
