Best PlacesChapin, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chapin, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chapin ranks 449th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chapin
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.
Chapin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chapin ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 96% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 94% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of cities
Where Chapin ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of cities
- Short commute34.8 minutes each way, better than only 6% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 15% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Chapin
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chapin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $114,601, 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 Chapin'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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chapin
Chapin runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chapin.
Who works in Chapin, and how
Work in Chapin centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Chapin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chapin.
What the weather is like in Chapin, month by month
Chapin sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 47° | 35° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 51° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Chapin
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Chapin
Schools across Chapin average an A, better than 91% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Murray ElementaryA+ · 74% proficient
- Ballentine ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Irmo ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chapin IntermediateA · 64% proficient
- Crossroads IntermediateB− · 39% proficient
- Batesburg-leesville Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Spring Hill HighA+ · 83% proficient
- Chapin HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Dutch Fork HighA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chapin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chapin 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 Chapin against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Chapin suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of cities and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Chapin
Is Chapin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chapin ranks 449th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, a strong job market, and health care access, and lowest on biking and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chapin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $407,628. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $114,601 median income, cost of living beats 88% of cities.
Is Chapin safe?
Yes, Chapin is safer than 77% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chapin?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 35. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 43% of cities.
Is Chapin good for families?
Schools beat 91% of cities, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $909 a month.
Compare Chapin with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chapin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chapin 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.
Chapin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chapin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chapin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chapin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chapin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chapin 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.