Renting in Cameron? Here's What You Need to Know Before You Sign

Cameron Rental Market Overview

Cameron is a 3.12-square-mile town in Calhoun County, South Carolina, on U.S. Highway 176 roughly 42 miles northwest of Columbia and 74 miles southeast toward Charleston, within the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of October 2026, this guide's research could not identify a single named apartment or multi-family rental community operating inside town limits, but City-Data.com's 2024 Census American Community Survey estimate does publish a town-wide median gross rent figure of $1,114 -- notably higher than several of the small South Carolina towns covered elsewhere on this site. The town's long-standing bedding manufacturer, operating under the Spring Air brand, could not be confirmed as still active as of this guide's research (see the history section below).

Common Lease Terms in Cameron

With no identified apartment community or leasing office to source a specific lease from, what follows is pieced together from housing-stock data, a direct jurisdiction check, and the town's own economic history rather than a single property's own paperwork:

• City-Data.com's 2024 ACS-based estimate puts Cameron's median household income at $78,155 -- above South Carolina's statewide median household income of $72,350, an unusual position for a town this small among the South Carolina pages on this site
• South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40) supplies the default lease terms -- notice periods, entry rules, deposit handling -- for any Cameron tenancy where the lease itself is silent
• Checked against the Census Bureau's public geocoder, both Cameron Town Hall (204 Boyce Lawton Drive) and the town's historic bedding-factory site next door (205 Boyce Lawton Drive) resolve cleanly inside the incorporated Town of Cameron -- a cleaner jurisdiction result than several other small South Carolina towns this guide has researched
• City-Data.com's 2024 estimate puts the town's median house value at $249,545 and the median resident age at 48.8 years -- below South Carolina's statewide median house value of $299,500 but above the state's median age of 40.7

Local Tenant Protections

South Carolina law provides the baseline for tenant rights, but Cameron may have additional local ordinances that affect your lease.

• South Carolina law preempts local rent control statewide (S.C. Code §27-39-60) -- no South Carolina city or county, including Cameron, may enact an ordinance regulating the rent charged on privately owned residential property
• A search for Cameron's own zoning ordinance surfaces a detailed, official-looking "Town of Cameron" planning and permits page -- but that page describes Cameron, North Carolina, a separately incorporated town of the same name in a different state. No Cameron, South Carolina-specific zoning ordinance, business-license ordinance, or municipal code could be confirmed online as of October 2026; a prospective tenant or small business should confirm directly with Town Hall (204 Boyce Lawton Drive) rather than trust a search result without checking which state it describes
• Checked against the Census Bureau's public geocoder, both Cameron Town Hall and the town's historic bedding-factory site next door resolve cleanly inside "Cameron town" -- a cleaner result than the mailing-address mismatches this guide has documented in several other small South Carolina towns, though only two addresses were checked
• Cameron's population declined in most decades since its 1950 peak, but the 2024 current-year estimate shows essentially no further change from 2020 -- a plateau, distinct from both the continued declines and the modest rebounds this guide has documented in other small South Carolina towns

For full South Carolina statewide tenant rights, see our South Carolina tenant rights guide.

Mandatory Fees at Cameron Rentals

No fee schedule could be independently confirmed for a Cameron rental, since this guide could not identify any leasing office or managed rental community operating inside town, as of October 2026.

• City-Data.com's housing profile publishes a town-wide median gross rent ($1,114) but no property-level application fee, pet fee, or deposit amount for any specific Cameron property
• Whether Cameron has its own zoning or business-license ordinance reaching a residential-rental registration rule could not be confirmed either way -- the most detailed search result describes a different, same-named town in North Carolina, not this one
• South Carolina law sets no statutory cap on application fees, pet fees, or administrative fees -- whatever a specific lease states is what governs

A town with no identified rental community isn't automatically a red flag -- but it does mean every fee, deposit amount, and lease term is worth confirming directly with the landlord, in writing, before signing anything.

A Calhoun County Town Named for a Scottish Clan, Holding Steady at a Historic Low

The U.S. Census Bureau's decennial counts show Cameron declining for most of the past century: from a peak of 630 residents in 1950 down to 449 by 2000, 424 by 2010, and 376 by 2020. City-Data.com's 2024 current-year estimate puts the town at 374 -- essentially unchanged from the 2020 count, a plateau rather than the continued decline or modest rebound this guide has documented in several neighboring South Carolina towns. The town sits on U.S. Highway 176 in Calhoun County, about 42 miles northwest of Columbia and within the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area, at an elevation of 177 feet.

The town's name is said to derive from Clan Cameron of Scotland, and two of its homes -- the Haigler House and the Ulmer-Summers House -- are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Cameron's economy has long been described as agricultural, with named employers including Cameron Cotton & Seed Company, Carolina Peanuts LLC, Golden Kernel Pecan Company, and a bedding manufacturer operating under the Spring Air brand since 1926. This guide found at least one business directory listing that bedding plant, at 205 Boyce Lawton Drive, as permanently closed, and could not independently confirm its current operating status. Separately, City-Data's 2024 employment-sector breakdown shows healthcare/social assistance (22.3%) and educational services (20.8%) as the largest sectors for the town's actual workforce today -- a different picture than the agriculture-and-manufacturing identity the town is historically known for, which this guide could not fully reconcile; it may reflect residents commuting to jobs outside Cameron, though that could not be confirmed directly.

A specific finding from this guide's own research: searching for Cameron's zoning ordinance or business-license requirements surfaces a thorough, professional "Town of Cameron" Planning, Zoning & Permits page describing a Comprehensive Land Use Plan, a Development Ordinance, and a requirement that new businesses register with Town Hall before moving in. That page belongs to Cameron, North Carolina -- a separately incorporated town carrying the identical name, in a different state entirely. Checked against the Census Bureau's public geocoder, Cameron, South Carolina's own Town Hall (204 Boyce Lawton Drive) and the historic bedding-factory site next door (205 Boyce Lawton Drive) both resolve cleanly inside the actual incorporated town -- so the jurisdiction itself checks out cleanly here, but a search for this town's own rules is genuinely easy to confuse with an unrelated town of the same name.

Common Issues Renters Face in Cameron

These are the most frequent lease-related considerations identified for Cameron, based on the research for this guide:

• No apartment or multi-family rental community could be confirmed operating inside Cameron from the sources this guide checked, so a prospective renter should not assume the town has no options at all -- only that none could be independently verified
• A search for Cameron's own zoning or business-license rules is genuinely easy to confuse with Cameron, North Carolina, a same-named but unrelated town whose planning page is the more detailed, more findable result online -- a renter or small business should confirm directly with Cameron, SC's own Town Hall rather than trust the first search result
• The town's historic bedding manufacturer (Spring Air brand, established 1926) appears in at least one business directory as permanently closed, which this guide could not independently confirm either way -- worth checking directly before citing it as evidence of local economic activity
• Cameron's population has declined for most of the past century but appears to have leveled off rather than continuing to fall or reversing -- worth watching, but not yet a confirmed trend in either direction

Negotiating Your Lease in Cameron

South Carolina is landlord-favorable with minimal statutory protections, and Cameron's rental market has no identified apartment community or leasing office to benchmark a specific offer against.

• A full written lease, rather than a verbal or partial agreement, is especially worth requesting in a market like Cameron's, where the counterparty is more likely an individual property owner than a company with a standard template already in place
• Comparing a specific quote against nearby St. Matthews, Springfield, or Orangeburg, all covered elsewhere on this site and all within Calhoun or Orangeburg County, can help gauge whether a Cameron rent or fee fits regional norms
• Confirming a specific address's actual jurisdiction using the Census Bureau's free public geocoder is worth doing for any Cameron-area property, and confirming which state's "Town of Cameron" a search result actually describes is worth doing for any zoning or business-license question -- this guide's own research found the two easy to conflate

A market with no identified rental community isn't automatically a red flag -- but with no comparison listing to check a quote against, confirming every fee, deposit amount, and lease term directly with the landlord, in writing, matters more here than in a market with visible competition.