Best PlacesKershaw, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kershaw, 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.
Kershaw ranks 39,362nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on a stable housing market, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kershaw
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.
Kershaw's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kershaw ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 77% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 71% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 69% of towns
Where Kershaw ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 11% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of towns
- Household income$54,214 median, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Kershaw
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kershaw home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,214, 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 Kershaw's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kershaw
Kershaw'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 Kershaw.
Who works in Kershaw, and how
Work in Kershaw centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 0%
Life in Kershaw
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kershaw.
What the weather is like in Kershaw, month by month
Kershaw sees roughly 85 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 Kershaw
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 50 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Kershaw
Schools across Kershaw average a C, better than 34% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Beech Hill ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Buford ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Jefferson ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buford MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- North Central MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Andrew Jackson MiddleD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- North Central HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Buford HighB · 50% proficient
- Central HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kershaw school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kershaw 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 Kershaw against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Kershaw
Is Kershaw a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kershaw ranks 39,362nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and walkability, and lowest on education levels and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kershaw expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,972. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $54,214 median income, cost of living beats 19% of towns.
Is Kershaw safe?
Kershaw is safer than 12% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $684 per resident a year.
Compare Kershaw with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kershaw. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kershaw 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.
Kershaw detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kershaw: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kershaw: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kershaw: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kershaw: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kershaw 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.