Rents are 4% below what Simpsonville's 10-year trend predicts — a better deal than its own history suggests.
Rent by unit size
These are HUD Fair Market Rents, the payment standard for a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). They often differ from the $1,848 market median above, and that is expected: FMR is the 40th percentile of standard-quality units and counts gross rent, so it includes essential utilities such as electricity, water, gas, sewer, and trash. The market median is asking rent, which usually excludes utilities. HUD sets FMR once a year; market rent here updates monthly.
Source: HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents. Read the methodology →
12-month history
Last updated: October 17, 2026
What the numbers show
January. Asking rents in Simpsonville usually run 1% below trend in January and 0.9% above it in July, about $35 a month apart at today's median. Based on 11 years of data.
Rent in Simpsonville is at its highest level since Zillow's records here began in January 2015.
Rent in Simpsonville changed +2.7% over the year to September 2026. Across the 54 South Carolina cities Zillow tracks, the typical change was +3.1%.
From 2019 to 2024, rent in Simpsonville rose 32.5% while median household income rose 14.5% ($71,990 to $82,457). Rent outpaced income.
Rent in Simpsonville is 40% higher than in March 2020. Across the US, rent is up 37.3% over the same stretch.
Rent rose in 10 of the last 12 months.
30% of the median household income ($82,457) is $2,061 a month. That covers HUD's Fair Market Rent for up to a 3-bedroom ($2,040); a 4-bedroom is $2,445.
Mauldin, 4 miles away, rents for 26% less ($1,368/mo), about $5,800 a year in savings.
From Zillow's monthly rent index (ZORI) for Simpsonville. The seasonal pattern compares Zillow’s seasonally adjusted and unadjusted series. Income is the Census median household income (5-year estimates). Fair Market Rents are HUD’s, which include utilities.
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Who lives here
Simpsonville, SC is majority owner-occupied, 37.9% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2024 5-Year Estimates
How Simpsonville, SC has changed in 5 years
Rent in Simpsonville, SC has increased 27.6% since 2021, going from about $1,448 per month to roughly $1,848 today. Median household income grew from $76,412 to $82,457 between 2021 and 2024, a 7.9% shift. Rent outpaced income growth by roughly 19.7 percentage points, which means renters are spending a larger slice of each paycheck on housing than they did in 2021. Headcount in the area went from 23,190 to 26,144 between 2021 and 2024, a 12.7% change. About 31.5% of households rent today, against 26% in 2021. Educational attainment has shifted as well, with the share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher climbed from 34.4% to 37.9%. Taken together, the five-year picture in Simpsonville, SC reflects how housing costs and the people paying them have evolved through a stretch that included a pandemic, a hot rental market, and a recent cooling phase.
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At $1,848/mo, how Simpsonville rent compares to typical pay (30% rule).
Simpsonville rent by bedroom count
Median rent for each apartment size in Simpsonville. Click any size for full breakdown.
Tips for renters in Simpsonville
Last updated: October 17, 2026
The median rent in Simpsonville is $1,848/mo as of October 2026. A studio apartment averages $1,450/mo while a 2-bedroom runs $1,670/mo. One-bedroom apartments average $1,505/mo and 3-bedroom units go for $2,040/mo.
At 27% of local median household income ($82,457/yr), Simpsonville ranks as affordable compared to the national benchmark of 30%. Rents have increased 2.7% over the past year.
Frequently asked questions
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Which nearby cities are cheaper to rent in than Simpsonville?
At $1,848/mo, rent takes ~27% of Simpsonville's median household income ($82,457/yr). The standard benchmark is 30%.
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Estimated from ZIP-level data
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