Best PlacesBerkeley County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Berkeley 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.
Berkeley County ranks 951st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $87,800, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are disaster risk, long commutes, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Berkeley 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 Berkeley County
The parts of Berkeley 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.
Charleston
More adults hold degrees, incomes run higher, and schools score higher.
Summerville
Fewer homes sit empty, though tree cover is thinner.
Goose Creek & Hanahan
Commutes are shorter, though prices have run up more.
Moncks Corner
Homes cost less, though local pay stretches less far.
Cross
It is quieter, though health outcomes score lower.
St. Stephen & Bonneau
More households have young kids, though crime runs higher.
Berkeley County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Berkeley County's strengths and weaknesses
Berkeley County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. A strong job market, what local pay buys, and fast internet carry most of that.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. Long commutes and childcare costs also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Berkeley County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 90% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of counties
- Household income$87,800 median, better than 85% of counties
Where Berkeley County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 17% of counties
- Cheap childcare$908 a month, better than only 27% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 29% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Berkeley County
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Berkeley County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $87,800; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Berkeley County's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 Berkeley County
Berkeley County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Berkeley County.
Who works in Berkeley County, and how
Work in Berkeley County 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 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Berkeley County
Berkeley County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 36 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Berkeley County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Berkeley County growing, and who is moving in?
Berkeley County has grown about 33% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Charleston, SC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Berkeley County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Berkeley County, month by month
Berkeley County sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Berkeley County
Charleston AFB/International sits about 11 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.2 million passengers in 2025, with 95 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Berkeley County
Schools across Berkeley County average a B, better than 79% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Daniel Island SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Montessori Community SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Marrington ElementaryA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thomas C. Cario MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- Marrington Middle School Of The ArtsA+ · 75% proficient
- Westview MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Summerville HighA · 73% proficient
- Philip Simmons HighA · 70% proficient
- Hanahan HighA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Berkeley County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Berkeley 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 Berkeley County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Berkeley County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 56% of counties and health care access beats 61%.
Common questions about living in Berkeley County
Is Berkeley County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Berkeley County ranks 951st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, what local pay buys, and fast internet, and lowest on disaster risk and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Berkeley County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $350,638. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $87,800 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is Berkeley County safe?
Yes, Berkeley County is safer than 78% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Berkeley County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 38. That works out to about 94 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Berkeley County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Charleston, Summerville, and Goose Creek & Hanahan. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Berkeley County good for families?
Schools beat 79% of counties, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Is Berkeley County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 89% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Berkeley County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Berkeley County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Berkeley 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.
Berkeley County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Berkeley County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Berkeley County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Berkeley County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Berkeley County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Berkeley 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.