Best PlacesCamden, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Camden, 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.
Camden ranks 27,017th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on transit, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Camden
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.
Camden's strengths and weaknesses
Where Camden ranks high
- TransitBetter than 88% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of towns
- Cheap childcare$552 a month, better than 87% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of towns
- BikingBetter than 78% of towns
Where Camden ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 27% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 30% of towns
- Short commute29.8 minutes each way, better than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Camden
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Camden home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,737, 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 Camden'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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Camden
Camden runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Camden.
Who works in Camden, and how
Work in Camden centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Camden
Camden has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of towns and more parkland per resident than 93% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Camden and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Camden, month by month
Camden sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 35° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Camden
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around Camden
Schools across Camden average a B−, better than 60% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Beech Hill ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Lugoff ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Camden ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Camden MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- North Central MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Lugoff-elgin MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Lugoff-elgin HighA− · 65% proficient
- Camden HighB+ · 56% proficient
- North Central HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Camden school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Camden 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 Camden against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Camden suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Camden
Is Camden a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Camden ranks 27,017th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, fast internet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on crime and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Camden expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $243,084. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $74,737 median income, cost of living beats 64% of towns.
Is Camden safe?
Camden is safer than 12% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $704 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Camden?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 35. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of towns.
Is Camden good for families?
Schools beat 60% of towns, crime safety beats 12%, and childcare runs $552 a month.
Compare Camden with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Camden. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Camden 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.
Camden detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Camden: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Camden: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Camden: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Camden: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Camden 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.