Best PlacesBeaufort County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Beaufort County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Beaufort County ranks 938th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $90,783, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are disaster risk, an overheated housing market, and summer heat.
The best neighborhoods in Beaufort County
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.
The best areas in Beaufort County
The parts of Beaufort County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Bluffton
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and schools score higher.
Hilton Head Island
Fewer households have young kids and heat risk is higher.
Okatie
Health care is easier to reach and more adults hold degrees.
Ladys Island
Homes cost less, though biking is worse.
Port Royal & St. Helena Island
Fewer residents vote and more homes sit empty.
Burton
Incomes run lower and it is noisier.
Laurel Bay
Prices have run up less and tree cover is thicker.
Beaufort
Health outcomes score lower.
Scores across Beaufort County run from about the 4th to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Beaufort County's strengths and weaknesses
Beaufort County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. An educated workforce, health care access, and high incomes carry most of that.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and summer heat also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Beaufort County ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of counties
- Household income$90,783 median, better than 87% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 87% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of counties
Where Beaufort County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 25% of counties
- Cheap childcare$908 a month, better than only 27% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Beaufort County
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Beaufort County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,783, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Beaufort County's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Beaufort County
Beaufort County runs older than the country, 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 Beaufort County.
Who works in Beaufort County, and how
Work in Beaufort County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Beaufort County
Beaufort County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Beaufort County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Beaufort County growing, and who is moving in?
Beaufort County has grown about 15% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Greenville, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Beaufort County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Beaufort County, month by month
Beaufort County sees roughly 120 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 51° | 44° |
| April | 75° | 67° | 60° |
| July | 89° | 83° | 77° |
| October | 78° | 71° | 64° |
Flying in and out of Beaufort County
The nearest airport, Hilton Head, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 59 miles away.
The best schools in and around Beaufort County
Schools across Beaufort County average a B−, better than 73% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Coosa ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- River Ridge AcademyA · 62% proficient
- Riverview Charter SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bluffton MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- H. E. Mccracken MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- Hilton Head Island MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Bluffton HighA · 72% proficient
- May River HighA · 69% proficient
- Beaufort HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Beaufort County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Beaufort County 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 Beaufort County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Beaufort County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of counties and 15% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 75% of counties, health care access beats 94%, and it is quieter than 72%.
Common questions about living in Beaufort County
Is Beaufort County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Beaufort County ranks 938th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on an educated workforce, health care access, and high incomes, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Beaufort County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $499,737. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $90,783 median income, cost of living beats 87% of counties.
Is Beaufort County safe?
Yes, Beaufort County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $347 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Beaufort County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 44. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 75% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Beaufort County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and Okatie. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Beaufort County good for families?
Schools beat 73% of counties, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Is Beaufort County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 60% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Beaufort County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Beaufort County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Beaufort County 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.
Beaufort County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Beaufort County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Beaufort County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Beaufort County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Beaufort County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Beaufort County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.