South Carolina
Buying Land in Dillon County, South Carolina
County seat Dillon. A small, rural Pee Dee county along I-95 near the North Carolina line, Dillon County's land economy runs on row-crop farming and timber, with a countywide zoning ordinance enforced by its own Zoning Department -- a more structured framework than some of its rural South Carolina neighbors.
A rural Pee Dee county with an actual countywide zoning ordinance
Dillon County is one of South Carolina's smaller counties by population, tucked into the northeastern Pee Dee region along the North Carolina line, with an economy historically built on tobacco and cotton farming and now spread across a broader mix of row crops, timber, and light industry. Unlike some rural South Carolina counties -- where the state's optional-zoning statute (S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 29) has resulted in no countywide zoning at all -- Dillon County has adopted a full zoning ordinance, codified as Chapter 44 (Planning and Development) of its Code of Ordinances, and administers it through a dedicated Zoning Department that issues zoning permits and handles interpretation questions under the authority of the Planning Commission and County Council.
That's a genuinely more structured land-use framework than a buyer might assume by default for a small, rural Pee Dee county, and it's worth checking specifically rather than assuming Dillon follows the same unzoned pattern as some of its regional neighbors. Confirm the zoning district assigned to a specific unincorporated parcel, and its permitted-use list, directly with the Zoning Department -- and separately confirm whether a parcel sits inside the City of Dillon, which maintains its own municipal Planning and Zoning authority distinct from the county's.
The I-95 corridor and 'South of the Border': a distinct sub-market, not the whole county
Dillon County sits directly on Interstate 95, and its stretch of the interstate is home to South of the Border, the sprawling, brightly signed tourist-attraction and rest-stop complex that has drawn travelers along the East Coast's main north-south corridor for decades. That kind of interstate-interchange commercial development is a real, distinctive feature of the immediate area around Dillon's I-95 exits -- and land near those interchanges sees a different pattern of demand and zoning treatment (commercial, hospitality, and travel-services uses) than does land in the county's broader agricultural interior.
For a land buyer, the practical takeaway is to treat Dillon County as having at least two distinct land-use contexts: the I-95 corridor and its immediate commercial orbit, and the much larger rural, agricultural interior away from the interstate. A parcel's realistic use, zoning district, and value driver will differ substantially between the two, so don't extrapolate from one part of the county to the other.
Septic and the rest of the due-diligence checklist
Septic permitting for any Dillon County parcel not on municipal sewer follows South Carolina's statewide model described on our state page: SCDES, not a county health department, issues the permit under Regulation 61-56. The SCDES Florence Environmental Affairs Office (145 E. Cheves Street, Florence, SC, (843) 661-4825) covers Dillon along with Chesterfield, Darlington, Florence, Marion, and Marlboro counties -- get a site evaluation early, since the sandy, flat Coastal Plain soils common across the Pee Dee region generally perform well for conventional septic systems but still require individual confirmation.
Beyond zoning and septic, run the standard rural South Carolina checklist: confirm road frontage and access for the specific parcel (rural Pee Dee tracts, especially away from the I-95 corridor, commonly rely on private roads with no automatic county maintenance obligation), check flood zone status if the parcel is near the Little Pee Dee River or one of its tributaries, and pull a title search at the Dillon County Register of Deeds or Clerk of Court's office to confirm recorded easements and whether mineral or timber rights have ever been severed from the surface.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Dillon County
Confirm current staff, hours, fees, and the specific zoning district applicable to a target parcel directly with Dillon County Planning and Zoning before relying on this page.
Planning & Zoning
Dillon County Planning and Zoning
Zoning district lookups, permitted-use questions, and zoning permits under Chapter 44 of the county's Code of Ordinances.
Other
City of Dillon Planning and Zoning
Zoning and permitting for parcels inside Dillon city limits, administered separately from the county.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
SCDES Florence Environmental Affairs Office
Septic (onsite wastewater) site evaluations and permits under Reg. 61-56; also serves Chesterfield, Darlington, Florence, Marion, and Marlboro counties.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Dillon County Clerk of Court / Register of Deeds
Recorded deeds, easements, plats, and title history for a specific parcel.
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Get local guidanceSources
- Planning and Zoning | Dillon County — Dillon County, SC (accessed 2026-09)
- Chapter 44 | Code of Ordinances | Dillon County, SC — Municode Library (accessed 2026-09)
- Dillon County, South Carolina — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- SCDES Local Offices — South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09