Best PlacesHampton County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hampton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hampton County ranks 3,120th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Crime pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in Hampton 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.
Hampton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hampton County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 82% of counties
- Cheap childcare$581 a month, better than 74% of counties
- QuietBetter than 69% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 105 pleasant days a year, better than 64% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 64% of counties
Where Hampton County ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 4% of counties
- Household income$46,111 median, better than only 4% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- School gradeD−, better than only 5% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hampton County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hampton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,111, 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 Hampton County's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hampton County
Hampton 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 Hampton County.
Who works in Hampton County, and how
Work in Hampton County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hampton County
Hampton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of counties. The coast is about 62 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Hampton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hampton County growing, and who is moving in?
Hampton County has lost about 11% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hilton Head Island, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hampton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hampton County, month by month
Hampton County sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 66° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Hampton County
The nearest airport, Hilton Head, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hampton County
Schools across Hampton County average a D−, better than 5% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Springfield Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Effingham County Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Screven County Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Whale Branch MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Whale Branch Early College HighB · 50% proficient
- Screven County High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Ridgeland Secondary Academy Of ExcellenceD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hampton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hampton 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 Hampton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hampton County
Is Hampton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hampton County ranks 3,120th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and quiet, and lowest on crime and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hampton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,838. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $46,111 median income, cost of living beats 4% of counties.
Is Hampton County safe?
Hampton County is safer than 1% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,187 per resident a year.
Compare Hampton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hampton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hampton 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.
Hampton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hampton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hampton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hampton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hampton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hampton 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.