Sumter County is located in the heart of South Carolina, with the City of Sumter just 44 miles east of the state capital, Columbia. The deep-water ports of Charleston are located just 100 miles south, while the booming Greenville area is 145 miles northwest.  One of the greatest stretches of beaches in the world, the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand is about 100 miles east of Sumter while the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Mountains are 175 miles northwest. In addition, Atlanta is 258 miles west of Sumter, and Charlotte is 105 miles north. Sumter is encircled by a modern highway system, including interstates 95, 20, 77, and 26. Sumter enjoys easy access to these interstates via four-lane U.S. highways. Click here for information on Retiring in Sumter.

City	Miles From Sumter	Delivery Days
Atlana	258	1
Washington	450	2
Miami	637	3
New York	675	4
Chicago	800	3
Dallas	1,075	3
San Fransico	2,780	5

Altitudes range from 107 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL) in the south part of the county to 450 feet above MSL in the north. Sumter is located at latitude 34.0 N. and longitude 80.0 W.

The City of Sumter, which is the county seat, covers 11 square miles while the county covers 681 square miles with total land coverage of 436,100 acres.

The people of Sumter enjoy a moderate climate, with very warm summers and mild winters. The average temperature in January is 45.4 degrees and in July it's 81.2 degrees. Average precipitation is 49.1 inches with a growing season of 225 days.

Population Trends
Date	City	County
1980	24,924	88,243
1990*	41,943*	102,637
1997	44,944	108,720
2000**	39,643	103,646
Metro-Area 1997 Metro Pop. Changes 15-Mile Radius 109,593 Number 1990-96 3,001 30-Mile Radius 294,762 Percent 1980-90 68.3%
*Includes annexation of Shaw AFB **Census numbers have not been verified.

The city and county of Sumter continue to grow at a manageable rate, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sumter has led South Carolina for the past three years in per-capita job growth, and South Carolina has led the nation in the same category.  Because of this high job growth, and the ensuing increases in the standard of living and per-capita income, as well as general U.S. population trends, that growth is expected to continue.