RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> Aiken County >> AikenIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
South Carolina

The Commemorative Quarter for South Carolina





Welcome to Aiken ...

The city of Aiken is located in Aiken County<1> and is the County Seat for Aiken County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Aiken, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1834.

When the people of Aiken refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Aikenite<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Aiken has a population of 30,982 people<3> (see below for details).

Aiken is 500 feet [152 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Aiken lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Aiken: 803 & 839<5>

The ZIP code for Aiken: 29801<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Aiken had an population of 30,982 people. This is an increase of 4.94% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 22.28% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Aiken had a population of 29,524 people (which is 18.39% of the total population of Aiken County). This makes Aiken the county's most populous community.

The population of Aiken represents 0.64% of the population of South Carolina (which has 4,625,364 people), making it the state's 13th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 29,524 people, the population of Aiken increased 16.53% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 25,337 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Aiken.

Communities Also Named Aiken ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Aiken - they are located in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Texas (3).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Aiken.

Websites for Aiken ...

Official Website:   www.cityofaikensc.gov/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.aikenchamber.net/

Communities near Aiken ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Aiken.

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Aiken. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Aiken.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Aiken. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Aiken.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Aiken. Our list includes 18 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Aiken.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Aiken ...

Looking for more information about Aiken? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Aiken, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Aiken.

Adding Aiken to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Aiken in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Aiken was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

X2X - From that list, the Aiken post office opened in 1834.

We also found Aiken in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Aiken.

The official website for Aiken: www.cityofaikensc.gov/

The official website for Aiken County: www.aikencounty.net/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of South Carolina's counties, including Aiken, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Aiken refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Aiken may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Aiken.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Aiken - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 803 code has been Overlayed with the 839 area code. New phone numbers in the Aiken area will be assigned with one of these codes: 803 or 839. As a result, placing a call in the Aiken area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Aiken). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Aiken or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025