Cayce ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Congaree River. Its population was 12,528 at the 2010 census and rose to 13,789 in the 2020 United States Census, and it is the third-most populated municipality in Lexington County. The city is primarily in Lexington County, with additional, predominantly rural land to the east in Richland County. Cayce is part of the Columbia metropolitan statistical area and is within South Carolina's Midlands region.
History
What was to become Cayce was home to Native Americans for at least 12,000 years.
thumb|upright|left|One of the [[kilns from the Guignard Brick Works, established in 1803]]
The Guignard Brick Works were established on the west bank of the Congaree in 1803, and remained active for nearly two centuries.
The town was incorporated in 1914 and named for local businessman William J. Cayce.
In December 2007, the city council voted to annex a floodplain in Richland County. Prior to this annexation, Cayce was entirely situated within Lexington County. The city planned to develop the annexed area, but after significant evaluations, the city abandoned the project after determining that development was not suitable in the flood-prone area, leaving Cayce with a sizeable piece of sparely populated land.
thumb|The city of Columbia as seen from Cayce, over the [[Congaree River]]
Geography
thumb|upright|[[Still Hopes, built in 1910]]
Cayce is in eastern Lexington County and western Richland County, with the traditional center of town on the west side of the Congaree River. The Congaree divides the city from the state capital, Columbia, to the northeast. and the town of Pine Ridge to the southwest.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.38%, are covered by water.
Attractions
thumb|right|Exhibit of the Cayce Historical Museum
Cayce has several hiking trails throughout the city. All of its public attractions, with the exception of the Cayce Historical Museum, are free of charge.
- The Cayce Riverwalk, sometimes referred to as the Cayce/West Columbia River Walk, is a paved, hiking and biking trail along the Congaree River. The Riverwalk has four segments with several access points, and provides historical markers along the pathway. The park sometimes floods when the Congaree River exceeds flood stage.
- The 12,000-year-old park is built upon land that the city states has not changed much in the past 12,000 years.
- The Timmerman Trail is a hiking and biking trail through the woods. The trail is maintained by Dominion Energy and is located near the company's headquarters. The trail is named after the pro-segregationist former governor of South Carolina, George Bell Timmerman Jr.
- Cayce Historical Museum, located at the city's municipal complex, includes Native American, colonial, Revolutionary War, and Civil War artifacts.
Transportation
Public transportation
Bus system
Public transportation in Cayce is provided by the COMET, or officially the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority. The bus system has several routes in Cayce and is the main public transit system for the greater Columbia area.
Columbia Metropolitan Airport
The Columbia Metropolitan Airport (IATA:CAE) serves as the main airport for the greater Columbia area, and is just west of the Cayce city limits. In 2018, the airport served 1,197,603 passengers with 12,324 flights. The airport is the regional hub for UPS Airlines, transporting 136.7 million pounds of freight/mail in 2018. The airport was originally named Lexington County Airport, and during World War II trained pilots for North American B-25 Mitchell crews.
Highways, roadways, and railways
- 20x20px I-26 - Interstate 26 passes through the western side of Cayce and connects the Columbia area to the other two major population centers of South Carolina, the Greenville-Spartanburg area to the northwest and the Charleston area to the southeast.
- 20x20px I-77 - Interstate 77 has its southern terminus in Cayce at I-26 and ends in Cleveland, Ohio. It is frequently used by travelers on the eastern Midwest<!-- east coast would use I95 --> of the United States heading to or from Florida.
- 20x20px US-321 - U.S. Route 321 passes through the western and northern sides of Cayce. It leads east across the Congaree River into downtown Columbia, then continues north toward Gastonia, North Carolina, while to the south it leads to the Savannah, Georgia, area.
- 20x20px SC-2 - South Carolina Highway 2 passes through the center of Cayce on State Street and Frink Street.
- The Columbia Subdivision, a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation, passes through Cayce; it was the site of a deadly train collision in February 2018.
Education
{| class="wikitable"
|+Public schools
|-
! Type
! School
! Enrollment
! Within <br>
city limits
|-
|Elementary
|Cayce Elementary School
|1,058
|Yes
|-
|Middle
|Cyril B. Busbee Creative Arts Academy
|418
|Yes
|-
|Middle
|R. H. Fulmer Middle School
|684
|Yes
|-
|High
|Airport High School
|1,348
|Yes
|-
|High
|Brookland-Cayce High School
|964
|Yes
|-
|College
|Midlands Technical College, Airport campus
|15,000
|No
|}
The Cayce-West Columbia branch of the Lexington County Public Library serves the cities of Cayce and West Columbia.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Cayce city, South Carolina – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|8,990
|8,355
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,664
|73.99%
|66.69%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |62.87%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|2,728
|3,103
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,062
|22.45%
|24.77%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |22.22%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|31
|47
|style='background: #ffffe6; |34
|0.26%
|0.38%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|131
|234
|style='background: #ffffe6; |502
|1.08%
|1.87%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.64%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|16
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.13%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|12
|10
|style='background: #ffffe6; |63
|0.10%
|0.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|87
|231
|style='background: #ffffe6; |564
|0.72%
|1.84%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.09%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|155
|539
|style='background: #ffffe6; |891
|1.28%
|4.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.47%
|-
|Total
|12,150
|12,528
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,781
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Cayce had a population of 13,781. The median age was 34.6 years. 18.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.2 males age 18 and over.
There were 6,232 households in Cayce, of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.1% were married-couple households, 25.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 8,799 || 63.8%
|-
| Black or African American || 3,089 || 22.4%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 67 || 0.5%
|-
| Asian || 502 || 3.6%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 1 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 496 || 3.6%
|-
| Two or more races || 827 || 6.0%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 891 || 6.5%
|}
2000 census
As of the 2000 census,
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