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

Starr Rental Market Overview

Starr is a 1.5-square-mile town in Anderson County, South Carolina, roughly 10 miles southeast of the county seat of Anderson and close to the smaller neighboring towns of Iva and Honea Path -- Starr-Iva Middle School, which serves both communities, reflects that close relationship. As of October 2026, this guide's research could not identify a single named apartment or multi-family rental community operating inside town limits, and City-Data.com's 2024 housing profile does not publish a town-wide median gross rent figure either, unlike several other small South Carolina towns this guide has covered. What the same 2024 estimate does show is a housing stock that is overwhelmingly owner-occupied (97.4%), consistent with a market where whatever rentals exist are individual houses rather than a managed property.

Common Lease Terms in Starr

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 profile rather than a single property's own paperwork:

• City-Data.com's 2024 ACS-based estimate puts Starr's median household income at $79,901 -- above South Carolina's statewide median household income of $72,350 -- with a poverty rate of just 3.1%; a separate source (DataUSA) independently estimates median household income at $75,833 and the same 3.1% poverty rate, broadly corroborating the figure
• Those current estimates stand in sharp contrast to Starr's own 2000 Census figures ($34,167 median household income, 29.6% poverty rate), a swing this guide's research could not fully explain and treats cautiously given the town's very small population (under 200 residents) -- a single-digit shift in a handful of households can move an ACS-based percentage substantially
• 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 Starr tenancy where the lease itself is silent
• Checked against the Census Bureau's public geocoder, both the Starr Post Office (7842 State Hwy 81 S) and Starr Baptist Church (115 Stones Throw Avenue) resolve cleanly inside the incorporated Town of Starr -- a clean jurisdiction result on both addresses tested

Local Tenant Protections

South Carolina law provides the baseline for tenant rights, but Starr 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 Starr, may enact an ordinance regulating the rent charged on privately owned residential property
• This guide could not confirm whether Starr has its own zoning ordinance or business-license ordinance; no Starr-specific municipal code could be found published online as of October 2026 -- a prospective tenant or small business should confirm directly with the town's own government rather than assume either way
• Checked against the Census Bureau's public geocoder, both the Starr Post Office and Starr Baptist Church resolve cleanly inside the incorporated Town of Starr, as does the town's own geographic center -- a clean result on every address tested, though only two specific addresses were checked
• Starr's population has held in a narrow band (164 to 174) across every count since 1990, after a much earlier decline from a 1910 peak of 273 -- a long, steady plateau rather than the continuing decline or growth-rebound pattern found in several neighboring small South Carolina towns

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

Mandatory Fees at Starr Rentals

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

• Neither City-Data.com nor any other source checked for this guide publishes a town-wide median gross rent for Starr, let alone a property-level application fee, pet fee, or deposit amount for any specific property
• Whether Starr has its own zoning or business-license ordinance reaching a residential-rental registration rule could not be confirmed either way -- no town-specific ordinance could be found published online, but that is not conclusive on its own
• 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 Steady Anderson County Town Easily Confused With a Texas Border County 400 Times Its Size

The U.S. Census Bureau's decennial counts show Starr following a pattern distinct from most small South Carolina towns this guide has covered: a real decline in the early-to-mid 20th century, then a long plateau rather than a continuing drop. The town peaked at 273 residents in 1910 and fell to 164 by 1990, but every count since has sat within a narrow 164-to-174 band -- 173 in 2000, 173 in 2010, 165 in 2020, and a City-Data.com 2024 estimate of 174. The town covers 1.5 square miles in Anderson County, roughly 10 miles southeast of the city of Anderson, near the smaller neighboring towns of Iva and Honea Path.

One genuine discrepancy in the current data: DataUSA, a separate ACS-based demographic site, reports a current population of 258 for "Starr, SC" -- 56% higher than the 2020 Census count for the identically named place. This guide's research could not confirm which geographic boundary DataUSA's figure actually describes; the most likely explanation is a ZIP-code-level or Census-designated-place area wider than the town's own 1.5-square-mile incorporated limits, the same kind of boundary mismatch this guide has flagged on other small-town pages, rather than a real, sudden 56% population jump with no corroborating source.

Starr is recorded as the birthplace or home of two notable figures: soul and blues musician Kip Anderson (1938-2007) and Wilton E. Hall (1901-1980), a South Carolina newspaper publisher who also served a short appointed term in the U.S. Senate. City-Data.com's 2024 employment-sector estimate shows manufacturing (21.6%) as the town's largest current employment sector, followed by educational services (14.6%), accommodation and food services (13.9%), and retail trade (12.5%). A specific caution worth flagging, in the same vein as this guide's earlier Carlisle and Cameron findings: Starr County, Texas, a U.S.-Mexico border county with a 2020 Census population of 65,920 -- roughly 400 times the population of Starr, South Carolina -- carries the identical name and is almost certainly the dominant result in any general search for "Starr" that isn't specifically narrowed to South Carolina.

Common Issues Renters Face in Starr

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

• No apartment or multi-family rental community could be confirmed operating inside Starr from the sources this guide checked, and City-Data.com's 2024 estimate puts owner-occupied housing at 97.4% of occupied units -- a renter should expect an individual-landlord, single-family-house market rather than a managed property
• A general search for "Starr" risks surfacing Starr County, Texas -- a U.S.-Mexico border county roughly 400 times this town's population -- rather than this small Anderson County, South Carolina town; a renter or small business researching local rules should specifically confirm the state and jurisdiction before trusting a search result
• Whether Starr has a zoning or business-license ordinance reaching residential rentals could not be confirmed either way -- a renter running a home-based business should check directly with the town's own government rather than assume the answer from a comparable town
• Starr's current economic data shows a striking swing from its own 2000 Census figures (median household income roughly doubling in nominal terms, poverty rate falling from 29.6% to 3.1%) -- plausible for a town this size given two decades of change, but also consistent with the kind of small-sample ACS noise this guide has flagged on other tiny South Carolina towns, so it is worth treating as directional rather than precise

Negotiating Your Lease in Starr

South Carolina is landlord-favorable with minimal statutory protections, and Starr'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 Starr'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 Iva, Honea Path, or Anderson, all covered elsewhere on this site and all within a short drive, can help gauge whether a Starr 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 Starr-area property -- this guide's own check found a clean result on both addresses tested, but confirming a specific parcel is still worth the few minutes it takes

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.