New Ellenton Rental Market Overview
New Ellenton, an Aiken County town (not the county seat -- that's the City of Aiken, about 15 miles east), grew from 2,052 residents at the 2010 census to 2,210 in 2020, a 7.7% increase confirmed against the U.S. Census Bureau's own decennial figures. A 2024 American Community Survey estimate, via city-data.com's Census-sourced profile, puts the town's median gross rent at $768/month against a 72.6% owner-occupancy rate -- leaving a 27.4% renter share, somewhat larger than neighboring Burnettown's 19.1%. Despite that renter share, this guide's research -- which checked national apartment-listing platforms, mobile-home-park directories, and New Ellenton's own official site -- did not identify a single standalone apartment community carrying a New Ellenton, SC 29809 address with its own verifiable website.
Common Lease Terms in New Ellenton
No standalone apartment community with a New Ellenton, SC address could be confirmed anywhere in this guide's research, so a typical lease length, deposit amount, or application fee can't be stated with a primary-source citation the way this guide can for a market with an identified rental community.
- New Ellenton's rental stock this guide identified skews toward single-family houses and mobile-home-park lots rather than a managed apartment complex -- directory listings name Village Mobile Home Park, C&A Mobile Home Park, and Ellenton Estates within town, none with an independently verifiable rate sheet
- The 2024 ACS estimate puts median gross rent across all of New Ellenton's renter households at $768/month, but that figure describes the town's whole renter population, not any single identified property or listing
- Renting a single-family home, duplex, or mobile-home lot directly from a landlord or park operator, with terms confirmed in writing, is the most realistic path to New Ellenton-specific lease terms given how thin the identifiable rental market is here
Local Tenant Protections
South Carolina law provides the baseline for tenant rights, but New Ellenton may have additional local ordinances that affect your lease.
- New Ellenton's own official website (cityofnewellenton.sc.gov, which brands itself "City of New Ellenton" though the Census Bureau and South Carolina's Municipal Association directory both classify it as a town) lists a Business License Ordinance, a Comprehensive Plan, and a Burn Ordinance on its Resources/Ordinances page, but no visible rental-registration or landlord-tenant ordinance
- Six candidate addresses checked against the Census Bureau's own incorporated-place boundary data -- Town Hall at 200 Main St plus five residential rental addresses across town -- all resolve to New Ellenton town, with no mailing-address/jurisdiction mismatch found, unlike several other small Aiken County towns in this guide's series
- No local rent control; South Carolina law preempts it statewide (S.C. Code §27-39-60)
South Carolina statewide baseline
- Security deposit cap
- No cap
- Deposit return
- 30 days
- Landlord entry notice
- 24 hours
- Rent regulation
- None statewide
Statutory basis: S.C. Code §27-40-410/-530. Figures verified June 2026 against the primary statute. Statutes change — a lawyer in South Carolina can confirm what applies to a specific tenancy.
For full South Carolina statewide tenant rights, see our South Carolina tenant rights guide.
Mandatory Fees at New Ellenton Communities
No apartment-specific fee schedule can be published here, because no standalone New Ellenton-addressed apartment community was identified during this guide's research.
- New Ellenton's 72.6% owner-occupancy rate (2024 ACS estimate) still leaves a 27.4% renter share, yet this guide found no professionally managed rental community publishing rates -- the identifiable rental stock is individual houses and mobile-home-park lots
- A single-family home, duplex, or mobile-home-park lot in New Ellenton would typically carry a deposit, and possibly a lot rent or pet deposit, set individually by the landlord or park operator rather than published on a company website
- Aiken and North Augusta, both within about a 20-minute drive, each carry multiple identified apartment communities with at least partially disclosed pricing (see this guide's Aiken and North Augusta pages), which gives renters something to benchmark a New Ellenton-area quote against
Because no company-published rate exists for a New Ellenton-addressed community, a landlord's or park operator's verbal quote here carries more weight than it would in a market with an established, published price to compare against. Getting the deposit, lot rent or pet policy, and lease length in a written lease, not just a conversation, is what makes that quote enforceable.
What's Driving New Ellenton's Growth
New Ellenton exists because of a decision made 14 miles south of where the town now sits. In November 1950, the Atomic Energy Commission announced plans for what became the Savannah River Site, a nuclear-materials production complex spanning Aiken and Barnwell counties. The original town of Ellenton was the largest community uprooted by the resulting relocation of roughly 6,000 residents -- some of whom moved their actual homes and buildings the 14 miles north to the new townsite. The last Ellenton resident left on April 1, 1952, and New Ellenton was incorporated 25 days later, on April 26, 1952, initially nicknamed "North Ellenton" by the press before incorporation. The South Carolina Encyclopedia notes Ellenton is considered by many locals to have been "the first victim of the H-bomb."
New Ellenton grew rapidly during SRS's peak construction years, when a large share of the plant's roughly 38,500 workers lived in trailer parks between the new town and the plant's main entrance, and the town's own businesses served that expanding population. Business later declined as Aiken and Augusta, Georgia drew retail trade away once routine SRS operations replaced construction-era hiring. The site remains a major regional employer today -- a documented $2.2 billion economic impact across a five-county area in fiscal year 2020 -- though this guide's research found no source tying a specific SRS facility or hiring program directly to New Ellenton's own rental market, as distinct from the broader county. Against that backdrop, the town's 7.7% population growth from 2,052 (2010) to 2,210 (2020) reads as modest, steady infill rather than a construction-driven boom.
Common Issues Renters Face in New Ellenton
These are the most frequent lease-related considerations this guide's research turned up for New Ellenton:
- No standalone apartment community carrying a New Ellenton, SC address could be confirmed anywhere in this guide's research -- the identifiable rental stock is individual houses and mobile-home-park lots syndicated through listing aggregators, not a company publishing its own rates
- New Ellenton's local government calls itself the "City of New Ellenton" on its own website and letterhead, though the U.S. Census Bureau and South Carolina's Municipal Association directory both classify it as a town -- a naming quirk worth knowing about, though it does not change which state law or which local ordinances apply
- New Ellenton's own website carries a Business License Ordinance, a Comprehensive Plan, and a Burn Ordinance, but no visible rental-registration or landlord-tenant ordinance beyond South Carolina's statewide baseline
Negotiating Your Lease in New Ellenton
South Carolina is landlord-favorable with minimal statutory protections, and New Ellenton's apparent lack of a standalone apartment market makes direct confirmation with any private landlord or park operator more important here than in a market with an identified, professionally managed community.
- Getting a prospective house, duplex, or mobile-home-lot rental's deposit, lot rent or pet policy, and lease length written into the lease itself, rather than relying on a verbal quote, is the main way to establish New Ellenton-specific terms when no company-published rate exists to compare against
- A written lease for a mobile-home-park lot is more attainable given that lot rent and pad terms are otherwise undocumented anywhere this guide could verify -- SC law treats a manufactured-home lot lease differently from a site-built rental, and getting utility responsibility and lot-rent increase notice in writing is worth the extra step
- Comparing a New Ellenton-area listing against Aiken or North Augusta, both within about a 20-minute drive with multiple identified apartment communities, is one way to benchmark a quoted rent given the absence of a published New Ellenton figure
Local Tip for New Ellenton Renters
New Ellenton's own local government brands itself "City of New Ellenton" on its website, forms, and social media, even though the U.S. Census Bureau and South Carolina's Municipal Association directory both classify it as a town -- a naming quirk, not a jurisdiction question. This guide checked that question directly: six candidate addresses, including Town Hall at 200 Main St and five residential rental addresses spread across different parts of town, were run against the Census Bureau's own incorporated-place boundary data, and all six resolve to New Ellenton town with no mismatch found. That's a cleaner result than several other small Aiken County towns in this guide's series, where a mailing address didn't reliably indicate which government actually had jurisdiction.
Frequently Asked Questions About Renting in New Ellenton
- What is the average rent in New Ellenton, SC?
- No confirmed rent figure exists for any specific New Ellenton-addressed apartment community, because this guide's research did not identify one. A 2024 American Community Survey estimate (via city-data.com's Census-sourced profile) puts median gross rent across all of New Ellenton's renter households at $768/month, but that is a townwide statistical average across however many rental units exist here, not a rate published by any specific property. New Ellenton's owner-occupancy rate of 72.6% in the same estimate leaves a meaningfully larger renter share (27.4%) than several other small Aiken County towns this guide has researched.
- Is there a verified apartment community in New Ellenton, SC?
- No. This guide checked national apartment-listing platforms, mobile-home-park directories (which list Village Mobile Home Park, C&A Mobile Home Park, and Ellenton Estates within New Ellenton), and the town's own official site, and did not identify a single standalone apartment community carrying a New Ellenton, SC 29809 address with its own verifiable website. The rental listings this guide did find -- houses and a townhome on Carroll Avenue, Ellenton Avenue, Smith Avenue, Old Whiskey Road, and Florida Avenue -- are all individual properties syndicated through listing aggregators, not a managed apartment community publishing its own rates.
- Why was New Ellenton founded, and how does that history affect the town today?
- New Ellenton exists because the original town of Ellenton, about 14 miles south, was demolished when the federal government chose the site for the Savannah River Site nuclear materials plant. The Atomic Energy Commission announced the project in November 1950, roughly 6,000 residents across the area were relocated, and the last Ellenton resident left on April 1, 1952 -- New Ellenton was incorporated 25 days later, on April 26, 1952. The South Carolina Encyclopedia notes Ellenton is considered by many locals to have been "the first victim of the H-bomb." The Savannah River Site remains a major regional employer today, generating a documented $2.2 billion economic impact across a five-county area in fiscal year 2020, though this guide's research found no source tying a specific SRS facility or hiring program directly to New Ellenton's own rental market as opposed to the broader region.
- Does New Ellenton have local tenant protections beyond South Carolina law?
- No rental-registration ordinance was found. The Town of New Ellenton's own official website (cityofnewellenton.sc.gov, which brands itself "City of New Ellenton" though the U.S. Census Bureau and South Carolina's Municipal Association directory both classify it as a town) publishes a Business License Ordinance, a Comprehensive Plan, and a Burn Ordinance on its Resources/Ordinances page, but no visible rental-registration or landlord-tenant ordinance distinct from South Carolina's statewide Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. South Carolina law also preempts local rent control statewide (S.C. Code Section 27-39-60), so no South Carolina city or county, including New Ellenton, may regulate the rent charged on private residential property.
- Where should I look if I want to rent a verified apartment near New Ellenton?
- Aiken, the Aiken County seat, and North Augusta, both within about a 20-minute drive, each have multiple identified apartment communities; this guide's North Augusta page found five researched communities (four inside city limits), of which only one publishes a rent figure on its own site. A single-family home, duplex, or mobile-home-park lot confirmed directly with a landlord or park operator, rather than through a listing aggregator, may be the more realistic path directly in New Ellenton given its apparent lack of a standalone apartment market.