Best PlacesAnderson, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Anderson, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Anderson ranks 1,463rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Anderson
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Anderson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Anderson ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of cities
- QuietBetter than 87% of cities
- School gradeB+, better than 76% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 72% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 70% of cities
Where Anderson ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 5% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Anderson
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Anderson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,981, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Anderson's effective rate of 0.53%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Anderson
Anderson's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Anderson.
Who works in Anderson, and how
Work in Anderson centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Anderson
Anderson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of cities and more parkland per resident than 87% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Anderson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Anderson, month by month
Anderson sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 44° | 32° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 78° | 64° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Anderson
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around Anderson
Schools across Anderson average a B+, better than 76% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Wright ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Starr ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Townville ElementaryA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southwood Academy For The ArtsA · 65% proficient
- Wren MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Mccants MiddleA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Dixie HighA+ · 85% proficient
- Anderson Five Charter SchoolA · 75% proficient
- T. L. Hanna HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Anderson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Anderson measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Anderson against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Anderson suits
Common questions about living in Anderson
Is Anderson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Anderson ranks 1,463rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low property taxes, quiet, and good schools, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Anderson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $232,140. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $67,981 median income, cost of living beats 35% of cities.
Is Anderson safe?
Anderson is safer than 27% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $525 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Anderson?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 32. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of cities.
Is Anderson good for families?
Schools beat 76% of cities, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Compare Anderson with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Anderson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Anderson represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Anderson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Anderson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Anderson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Anderson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Anderson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Anderson detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.