Laurens Named One of South Carolina’s Top 10 Most Hospitable Towns
July 20, 2026
The City of Laurens has landed on WorldAtlas.com’s list of the 10 Most Hospitable Towns in South Carolina, earning national recognition for the kind of small-town welcome that residents have long known firsthand.
The travel and geography site published the ranking June 3, spotlighting 10 communities across the Palmetto State where, in the site’s words, hospitality is a habit rather than a slogan. South Carolina ranks among the friendliest states in the country, and WorldAtlas pointed to the towns’ town squares, Saturday markets and long-running local traditions as evidence of that reputation.
Laurens shared the honor with Hartsville, York, Edisto Beach, Aiken, Newberry, Beaufort, Georgetown, Landrum and Sullivan’s Island.
In its writeup, WorldAtlas praised the city’s tight downtown square, which wraps around the 1838 Laurens County Courthouse and is ringed by restored brick storefronts now home to art co-ops and locally owned restaurants. The site highlighted the Artist’s Co-op on East Public Square, a volunteer-run nonprofit that sells local jewelry, pottery and paintings, describing it as the kind of place where someone walks visitors through every piece.
The article also pointed readers to Tap and Table on West Main, set in a renovated historic building, and to the Laurens County Museum, which covers regional history including the county’s Reconstruction era. Just around the corner from the public square, Verdin’s Too runs an open-air plant nursery worth a stop.
The recognition places Laurens alongside better-known destinations on the coast and in the foothills, while making the case that the Upstate holds its own when it comes to Southern hospitality. WorldAtlas grouped Laurens and Landrum together as the Upstate entries, describing both as places with town squares and Saturday markets where strangers actually get talked to.
The recognition only scratches the surface, because there is so much more to see and enjoy in Laurens. Locals and visitors alike should come check it out. To read the full article click here.
Image credit: Bill Fitzpatrick via Wikimedia Commons.
