Best PlacesJohns Island, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Johns Island, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Johns Island ranks 9,372nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Johns Island
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.
Johns Island's strengths and weaknesses
Where Johns Island ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of towns
- Household income$112,908 median, better than 91% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of towns
Where Johns Island ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 24% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 33% of towns
- Cheap childcare$923 a month, better than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Johns Island
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Johns Island home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $112,908, 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 Johns Island's effective rate of 0.37%, 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 Johns Island
Johns Island runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Johns Island.
Who works in Johns Island, and how
Work in Johns Island centers on health care & social and professional & technical. 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 2%
Life in Johns Island
Johns Island has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of towns. The coast is about 20 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Johns Island and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Johns Island, month by month
Johns Island sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 50° | 42° |
| April | 76° | 66° | 58° |
| July | 90° | 82° | 76° |
| October | 79° | 69° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Johns Island
Charleston AFB/International sits about 12 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 Johns Island
Schools across Johns Island average a B, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Montessori Community SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Angel Oak ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Mt. Zion ElementaryD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Laing MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Haut Gap MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Wando HighA+ · 81% proficient
- James Island Charter HighA · 78% proficient
- West Ashley HighA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Johns Island school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Johns Island 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 Johns Island against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Johns Island suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 71% of towns and health care access beats 84%.
Common questions about living in Johns Island
Is Johns Island a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Johns Island ranks 9,372nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, a strong job market, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Johns Island expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $569,079. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $112,908 median income, cost of living beats 85% of towns.
Is Johns Island safe?
Yes, Johns Island is safer than 71% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Johns Island?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 42. That works out to about 104 pleasant days a year, more than 71% of towns.
Is Johns Island good for families?
Schools beat 74% of towns, crime safety beats 71%, and childcare runs $923 a month.
Compare Johns Island with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Johns Island. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Johns Island 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.
Johns Island detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Johns Island: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Johns Island: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Johns Island: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Johns Island: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Johns Island 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.