Stargaze Atlas

South Carolina dark-sky map — light pollution by town

52 towns rated · darkest: Red Hill · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

South Carolina has 52 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Red Hill (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores. 3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide South Carolina · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
52

3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Red Hill
Genuinely dark towns
3

All South Carolina towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

South Carolina towns, darkest sky first.
Sky
Red Hill 4 Rural / suburban transition 0.8
Hilton Head 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.1
Hilton Head Island 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.7
Port Royal 5 Suburban sky 7.2
Oak Grove 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8
Taylors 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Bluffton 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Goose Creek 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Beaufort 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Seven Oaks 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Parker 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Berea 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Mount Pleasant 6 Bright suburban sky 19
North Myrtle Beach 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Ladson 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Fort Mill 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Newberry 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Cayce 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Gaffney 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Five Forks 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Wade Hampton 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Red Hill 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Summerville 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Simpsonville 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Forest Acres 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Socastee 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Irmo 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Gantt 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
North Augusta 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Lexington 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Greer 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Conway 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Mauldin 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Easley 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Dentsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Charleston 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Hanahan 8 City sky 41
Aiken 8 City sky 41
Greenwood 8 City sky 43
Saint Andrews 8 City sky 43
West Columbia 8 City sky 43
Sumter 8 City sky 46
Rock Hill 8 City sky 47
North Charleston 8 City sky 47
Orangeburg 8 City sky 47
Anderson 8 City sky 48
Clemson 8 City sky 61
Spartanburg 8 City sky 62
Florence 8 City sky 63
Myrtle Beach 8 City sky 79
Greenville 8 City sky 93
Columbia 9 Inner-city sky 135

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in South Carolina?
The darkest town tracked here is Red Hill. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does South Carolina have?
Of 52 towns rated here, 3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.