Lexington vs Irmo: Two Lake Murray Towns in the Columbia Midlands
Lexington and Irmo sit on opposite sides of Lake Murray in the Columbia Midlands, and they draw on the same two hospital systems, the same airport and the same lake. The difference is structural. The Town of Lexington is in Lexington County, the seat of county government, and counted 23,568 residents in the 2020 Census. The Town of Irmo lists a population of 12,000+ and straddles Lexington and Richland counties, so a retiree's school-district levy, county and lake access vary by exact address.
Last reviewed
Lexington vs Irmo: the short answer
Lexington and Irmo sit on opposite sides of Lake Murray in the Columbia Midlands, and they draw on the same two hospital systems, the same airport and the same lake. The difference is structural. The Town of Lexington is in Lexington County, the seat of county government, and counted 23,568 residents in the 2020 Census. The Town of Irmo lists a population of 12,000+ and straddles Lexington and Richland counties, so a retiree's school-district levy, county and lake access vary by exact address.
That split matters more than any amenity list. A home inside the Town of Lexington sits in a different school district column of the county's millage schedule than a home inside the Town of Irmo, and the parts of Irmo that lie in Richland County are taxed under a different county's rules entirely. The lake itself offers a fee-based reserved beach on the Lexington side and a year-round boat launch on the Irmo side.
Millage changes each tax year, so confirm the taxing districts with the Lexington County Auditor and, for any Richland County portion, with Richland County before contract. State rules for retirees are in the South Carolina retirement taxes guide.
Full profiles: Lexington (South Carolina) and Irmo (South Carolina).
Which one fits you
Choose Lexington if
- You want the larger town with county offices close by: Town Hall is at 111 Maiden Lane and the county's administrative offices are at 212 South Lake Drive.
- You want a reserved beach day on the lake: Dominion Energy's Lexington-side beach area is open from April 9 through Labor Day, requires an online day-pass reservation and charges $5 per vehicle per day.
- You are comfortable with a higher school debt millage: the County Auditor's Tax Year 2025 schedule lists District One at 393.2 mills, including 90.0 mills for school bonds.
- You want everything within one county's rules, so the exact tax district is less likely to be split across a county line.
Choose Irmo if
- You want a parks-and-festival small town: Irmo lists more than 50 acres of parks and facilities, Moore Park with a free-entry amphitheater and the Irmo Okra Strut held the last weekend of September.
- You want year-round lake launch access: Dominion's Irmo side is open 24 hours a day with a boat launch and fishing docks, at $5 for day access or $50 for season access.
- You want the lower school millage line: District Five's school levy is 330.5 mills on the same schedule, including 69.5 mills for school bonds.
- You are willing to confirm whether an address is in the town and which county taxes it, since the Town of Irmo's planning pages point to both the Lexington County and Richland County plans.
Lexington and Irmo side by side
| Dimension | Lexington | Irmo |
|---|---|---|
| School district levy in the millage schedule | The Lexington County Auditor's Tax Year 2025 schedule groups rates into five school districts. For District One, the group that includes the column headed Town Limits of Lexington, the school district levy is 393.2 mills, made up of 303.2 mills for school operations and 90.0 mills for school bonds. The county levy appears as 91.3 mills in most columns. Municipal and fire-district levies are listed separately and vary by column. | For District Five, which includes columns labeled District 5 - Town of Irmo and District 5 - Town of Chapin, the school district levy is 330.5 mills, made up of 261.0 mills for school operations and 69.5 mills for school bonds, with the county levy again 91.3 mills in most columns. Our arithmetic: the District Five school levy is 62.7 mills below District One, and its bond portion is 20.5 mills lower. Irmo's town page points to both the Lexington County and Richland County comprehensive plans, so confirm the taxing county before contract. |
| Illustrated owner-occupied bill | A legal residence is assessed at 4 percent and is exempt from school operating millage but not from school debt millage or county and municipal taxes, according to the Department of Revenue's policy manual. Our arithmetic, not a tax bill: on a $400,000 home with the $50,000 homestead exemption the assessed base is $14,000, and District One's 90.0 school bond mills plus the 91.3 county mills give 181.3 mills, or about $2,538.20, before any municipal or fire-district levy. | Our arithmetic, not a tax bill: on the same $400,000 home and $50,000 exemption, the $14,000 base with District Five's 69.5 school bond mills plus the 91.3 county mills gives 160.8 mills, or about $2,251.20, before any municipal or fire-district levy, which is $287.00 less than the Lexington illustration. Confirm with the Auditor whether the $50,000 or the temporarily raised $75,000 exemption applies for Tax Year 2026. |
| Reassessment and homestead rules shared in Lexington County | The Lexington County Assessor reappraises all real property every five years. The county implemented a reassessment in 2025 with values set as of December 31, 2024, and the next is scheduled for 2030. The 2025 question-and-answer sheet says taxable value cannot rise more than 15 percent at reassessment, but the cap does not protect property that transferred in 2024 or had new construction completed in 2024. A seller's low bill may not carry over to a buyer. | Irmo's Lexington County parcels follow the same reassessment and the same Homestead Exemption for owners 65 and older, which exempts the first $50,000 of a home's value from all property taxes and requires a year of South Carolina legal residence and age 65 as of December 31 before the tax year. The Department of Revenue says the amount was temporarily raised to $75,000 for Tax Year 2026. Parcels in the Richland County portion follow Richland County's Auditor, so confirm assessment and exemptions there. |
| Lake Murray access and fees | Dominion Energy's Lexington-side beach and recreation area is open from April 9 through Labor Day, requires an online day-pass reservation, charges $5 per vehicle per day and offers picnic facilities, swimming and restrooms, with no lifeguard on duty. Reservations open up to three weeks ahead, and hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. Dominion also requires a permit for residential shoreline work such as docks, boat ramps and retaining walls. | Dominion's Irmo side is open year round, 24 hours a day, with a boat launch, picnic facilities, fishing docks and restrooms. As of April 1, 2026 parking is paid online after arrival rather than in cash, at $5 for day access or $50 for season access, and only boaters may use the site between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Below the dam, SCDNR warns that Lower Saluda River flows can change within a couple of hours because of releases from the hydroelectric plant, with daily flows ranging from 400 to 20,000 cubic feet per second. |
| Town identity and events | The Town of Lexington was incorporated in 1861, and its own site says the 2020 Census counted 23,568 residents, which it calls one of the fastest growing municipalities in the state. The town's community page lists the Icehouse Amphitheater, a farmers market at Icehouse, the annual Snowball Festival, the Great Lexington Egg Hunt, parks and trails and downtown parking. The county's home page points to the Lexington County Museum and Lexington Outdoors. | Irmo was incorporated on December 24, 1890, and became a suburb when subdivisions arrived in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its council form of government has a mayor and four council members serving staggered four-year terms. Moore Park at 7473 Church Street is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at no charge, with shelter rental at $85 for up to four hours, and the Okra Strut draws an average of 25,000 visitors a year and as many as 60,000 in some years, according to the town. |
| Hospitals and airport shared by both | Lexington Health's flagship is Lexington Medical Center at 2720 Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia, described as a 607-bed hospital with more than 80 doctors' offices and six accredited urgent care centers. Its awards page lists a 2026-2027 U.S. News & World Report designation as Best Hospital in Columbia Metro, which is the hospital's own summary of third-party recognition. Columbia Metropolitan Airport's partner airlines offer more than 25 daily flights to 10 nonstop destinations. | Irmo residents use the same hospitals. Prisma Health Richland Hospital at 5 Richland Medical Park Drive in Columbia has 641 acute care beds, a Level I adult trauma center and the area's only pediatric trauma center. Both systems are embedded in Irmo's civic life, with the Lexington Medical Center Irmo Okra Strut and the Prisma Health amphitheater, which is sponsorship rather than a quality signal. See the healthcare access guide for network and distance questions. |
| Town services, planning and hazards | Lexington County Emergency Management runs an Emergency Road Closure Map and an emergency-warning registration page. The state's 2026 Annex C lists lane reversals in the Central Hurricane Region on Interstate 26 westbound from near Exit 197 to the I-77/I-26 interchange in Columbia, which carries coastal evacuation traffic toward the Midlands. Lexington is inland, so storm surge is not a factor. | The town contracts with NewSouth Waste for weekly curbside residential garbage, recycling and yard-waste collection for in-town residents, and the Irmo Fire District lists a headquarters station plus the Childs Street and Northlake stations. The Town adopted a ten-year comprehensive plan, Vision 2035, on November 19, 2024, and its Am I In The Town page, with a boundary and zoning map, is the place to check whether a prospective home is in Irmo. |
Sources and review date
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources below; where a rule or figure can change, check the linked source before relying on it.
- 2025 Reassessment Questions & Answers — Lexington County Assessor (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Tax Year 2025 Millage Schedule — Lexington County Auditor (accessed 2026-09-30)
- South Carolina Homestead Exemption Program — Lexington County Assessor (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Real Property Information (Legal Residence) — Lexington County Auditor (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Auditor Property Tax FAQ — Lexington County Auditor (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Exempt Property — South Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- SCTIED 2025 Chapter 5: Individual Property Tax — South Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- About Lexington Health — Lexington Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Emergency Room — Lexington Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Awards and Recognition — Lexington Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Prisma Health Richland Hospital — Prisma Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Airlines — Columbia Metropolitan Airport (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Emergency Management Division — Lexington County, South Carolina (accessed 2026-09-30)
- About LexSC.gov — Town of Lexington (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Community — Town of Lexington (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Lake Murray, SC — Dominion Energy (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Lower Saluda River — Dominion Energy (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2026 Annex C: Evacuation Zones and Clearance Times — South Carolina Emergency Management Division (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Official Website of the Town of Irmo — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Town History — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Am I In The Town? — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Irmo Vision 2035 — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Moore Park — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Whitt Cline Community Park — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Irmo Okra Strut — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Sanitation Services — Town of Irmo (accessed 2026-09-30)