 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.Saluda County is largely in the Saluda River basin with a small portion of western Saluda in the Savannah River basin.As of the census of 2000, there were 19,181 people, 7,127 households, and 5,295 families living in the county.