List of census-designated places in South Carolina facts for kids
Have you ever heard of a place that isn't quite a city or a town, but still has people living there? In South Carolina, and other parts of the United States, these places are often called Census-designated places, or CDPs for short. They are communities where people live, but they don't have their own local government like a city or town does. This means they don't have a mayor or a city council to make their own laws or provide services like trash collection or police, which are usually handled by the county government instead. South Carolina has 126 of these special communities.
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What Makes a CDP Special?
CDPs are created by the United States Census Bureau just for counting people. When the government counts everyone in the country (this happens every 10 years), they need to know where people live, even if it's not inside an official city or town. So, they draw lines around these communities to count them.
How are CDPs Different from Cities?
The main difference is that a CDP doesn't have its own official government. A city or town has elected leaders who make decisions for that specific area. In a CDP, the county government usually takes care of things like roads, schools, and public safety. Think of it like living in a neighborhood that's part of a bigger county, rather than a separate small town.
Why Do CDPs Exist?
CDPs are important for understanding where people live and how populations are spread out. They help researchers and government planners see how many people live in areas that aren't formal cities. This information is used for many things, like deciding where to build new roads, schools, or hospitals.
CDPs in South Carolina
South Carolina has many CDPs, spread across different counties. These places vary a lot in size. Some are quite small, like Boykin in Kershaw County, which had only 100 people in 2010. Others are much larger, like St. Andrews in Richland County, which had over 20,000 people in 2010.
Many CDPs are located near larger cities. For example, Taylors and Wade Hampton are large CDPs close to Greenville. These communities often feel like suburbs of the bigger cities, even though they don't have their own city governments.
Some CDPs are also popular tourist spots. Murrells Inlet and Garden City in Horry County are examples of coastal CDPs where many people visit or live near the beach.
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