Williston is located in northern Barnwell County at. U.S. Route 78 passes through the center of the town, leading east to Blackville and northwest to Aiken. According to the United States Census Bureau, Williston has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.70%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,307 people, 1,310 households, and 906 families residing in the town. The population density was 371.7 people per square mile. There were 1,460 housing units at an average density of 164.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 50.80% White, 47.51% African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.82% of the population. There were 1,310 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couplesliving together, 24.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02. In the town, the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,371, and the median income for a family was $30,990. Males had a median income of $27,829 versus $21,635 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,134. About 26.3% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 23.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
There are three schools in the town: Williston-Elko High School, Williston-Elko Middle School, and Kelly Edwards Elementary School. A private school in Blackville, Jefferson-Davis Academy, also serves a portion of the town's population. Williston has a public library, a branch of the ABBE Regional Library System.
