Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Darlington County, South Carolina

CaringScore for Darlington County, SC

CaringScore was designed to help millions of Americans find the best places to retire, age in place, or receive eldercare. The CaringScore for continuing care retirement communities in Darlington was based on more than 50 factors in three key categories: health, cost, and livability. By compiling and analyzing this data, Caring.com is able to rate the quality of life you or a loved one might expect should you choose continuing care retirement communities in Darlington.

A CaringScore can range from 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and provides a quick way to compare cities, counties, and even specific zip codes. With a CaringScore of 4.6, Darlington is on par with the national average for those seeking continuing care retirement communities.

The charts below highlight a few of the factors we used to calculate the CaringScore for Darlington. Choose a category score to learn more.

Physicians Per Capita

Cost of Healthcare Index

Sunny Days Per Year

HealthScore for Darlington County, SC

HealthScore, a component of the overall CaringScore for continuing care retirement communities in Darlington, rates a region on a scale of 1 (less healthful) to 10 (more healthful). It's specifically tailored to anyone looking for continuing care retirement communities. The HealthScore for Darlington is based on the availability of healthcare resources, air and water quality, the overall health of the local population, and other key factors. With a HealthScore of 3, Darlington rates below average for those seeking continuing care retirement communities.

Easy access to physicians -- especially geriatricians and other key specialists -- is important to older adults. At just 100.2 physicians per capita, Darlington trails the national average by 54.6 percent. Darlington trails the national average in geriatricians per capita by 100.0 percent, with 0, and scores 69.2 percent below the national average in specialists per capita, with 6. These medical specialists include cardiologists, oncologists, and orthopedists. The average life expectancy from birth in Darlington is 73.5 years -- 5.6 percent lower than most of the country. Air quality in Darlington -- one factor in gauging the healthfulness of a region -- is 31.3 percent below average, and water quality -- another key measure of Darlington's environmental health -- trails the national average by 27.3 percent.

Doctors Per Capita	Darlington County, SC	Nat'l Avg
Physicians	100.2	220.5
Geriatricians	0	1.3
Cardiologists	3	7.7
Oncologists	0	3.5
Orthopedists	3	7

Average Life Expectancy

CostScore for Darlington County, SC

CostScore, part of the overall CaringScore for continuing care retirement communities in Darlington, rates the cost of living for older adults on a scale of 1 (more expensive) to 10 (less expensive). It's specifically tailored to people looking for continuing care retirement communities. The CostScore for Darlington is based on data such as the average monthly cost of continuing care retirement communities in the region, cost of living indices such as housing and healthcare, regional tax rates, and other key factors. With a CostScore of 7.8, the costs associated with continuing care retirement communities in Darlington are generally less expensive than the national average.

Because of the broad range of housing, service, and healthcare options available at continuing care retirement communities, no average monthly cost data is available for Darlington. The entry fee or purchase price for an independent living community can range from $50,000 to $500,000 or more, and typically requires an additional monthly service fee of $1,000 to $3,000 on average. The cost of living indices below provide the best proxy for comparing costs of continuing care retirement communities in Darlington to the rest of the country. Overall, the cost of living for Darlington indexes at 19.0 percent lower than the national average. Average healthcare costs are 7.0 percent cheaper than the national average, and the cost of housing is 56.0 percent less expensive than average.

Cost of Living	Darlington County, SC
Aggregate Index	81
Healthcare Index	93
Housing Index	44
Food Index	101
Utilities Index	103
Transportation Index	88

Cost of Healthcare Index

LivabilityScore for Darlington County, SC

LivabilityScore makes up part of the overall CaringScore for continuing care retirement communities in Darlington. On a scale of 1 (less livable) to 10 (more livable), it's a rating of the quality of life in a region, specifically tailored to those looking for continuing care retirement communities. The LivabilityScore for Darlington is based on weather, crime rates, economic factors, average age of the population, and other key demographics. With a LivabilityScore of 2.8, Darlington rates below average for continuing care retirement communities.

Weather is an important factor in choosing the best place for continuing care retirement communities. The sun shines an average of 217 days each year in Darlington, 5.9 percent more sunny days than the rest of the U.S. sees. With an average temperature of 33°F in January, winters tend to be milder in Darlington than in other parts of the country, and summers are often hotter than other places, averaging 92°F in July.

Local crime rates are another important indicator. The violent crime rate in Darlington is 150.0 percent higher than the national average, and the property crime rate is 150.0 percent higher than average. At $39,349 per year, the population of Darlington earns a lower than average median household income. Darlington has an unemployment rate of 10.70 percent, roughly 17.6 percent higher than the national average. And about 14.67 percent of the population in Darlington is of retirement age -- 65 or older -- which exceeds the national average by 11.5 percent.

Sunny Days Per Year

Avg Temperature (°F)

Property Crime Index

Amenities Per Capita	Darlington	Nat'l Avg
Parks	3.5	136.1
Libraries	6	18.8
Places of Worship	157.3	220.5
Public Transit	3	110.4
Grocery Stores	86.9	97.7
Pharmacies	15	13.8

Percent of Population Over Age 65