Best PlacesClemson, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clemson, 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.
Clemson ranks 1,234th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Clemson
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.
Clemson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clemson ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of cities
- Short commute18.0 minutes each way, better than 94% of cities
- School gradeA, better than 93% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of cities
Where Clemson ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Household income$55,452 median, better than only 4% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 5% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Clemson
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clemson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $55,452, 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 Clemson'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 and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clemson
Clemson runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Clemson.
Who works in Clemson, and how
Work in Clemson centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Clemson
Clemson has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of cities and more parkland per resident than 95% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clemson and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Clemson, month by month
Clemson sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Clemson
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around Clemson
Schools across Clemson average an A, better than 93% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Clemson ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Ravenel ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Central Academy Of The ArtsB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- R. C. Edwards MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Seneca MiddleB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- D. W. Daniel HighA · 76% proficient
- Pendleton HighA · 71% proficient
- Seneca HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clemson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clemson 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 Clemson against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Clemson suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Clemson
Is Clemson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clemson ranks 1,234th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on an educated workforce, short commutes, and good schools, and lowest on an overheated housing market and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clemson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $410,592. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $55,452 median income, cost of living beats 7% of cities.
Is Clemson safe?
Clemson is safer than 24% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $522 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Clemson?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 33. That works out to about 84 pleasant days a year, more than 49% of cities.
Is Clemson good for families?
Schools beat 93% of cities, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Compare Clemson with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clemson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clemson 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.
Clemson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clemson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clemson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clemson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clemson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clemson 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.