Clemson (/ˈklɛmpsən, ˈklɛmzən/) is a city in Pickens and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is home to Clemson University; in 2015, the Princeton Review cited the town of Clemson as ranking #1 in the United States for "town-and-gown" relations with its resident university. The population of the city was 13,905 at the 2010 census.
Clemson is part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area. Most of the city is in Pickens County, which is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. A small portion is in Anderson County, which is part of the Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The community was originally named Calhoun. Clemson University, founded in 1889, has developed as a large public university that dominates the town and serves as a cultural center. Its campus developed south of the original town. This was renamed as Clemson in 1943, reflecting its identification with the university. A small, multi-block downtown has some housing, retail and restaurants.
The university provides housing for students, but many students live off campus in a wide variety of apartment complexes. Outside the downtown, there are few paved sidewalks, but some streets have bike paths. The city's comprehensive plan has a historic preservation component to apply to keep a range of structures in the area.
The Clemson (train) Depot, built in 1893, was renovated in 2001; it now houses the local chamber of commerce and visitor center. The station was temporarily closed in 2016 for a road project, but was reopened in 2019. U.S. Route 123 runs along the northern end of the city and its edges have been developed with typical suburban-style shopping centers.