Best PlacesKirksey, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kirksey, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kirksey ranks 26,462nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Kirksey
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.
Kirksey's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kirksey ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- QuietBetter than 86% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 71% of towns
Where Kirksey ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 22% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 26% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 28% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Kirksey
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kirksey home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,423, 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 Kirksey's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kirksey
Kirksey 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 Kirksey.
Who works in Kirksey, and how
Work in Kirksey centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 97%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Kirksey
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Kirksey.
What the weather is like in Kirksey, month by month
Kirksey sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 47° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 78° | 63° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Kirksey
The nearest airport, Augusta Regional at Bush Field, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kirksey
Schools across Kirksey average a B−, better than 57% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ninety Six ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- W. E. Parker ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westview MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Saluda MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Mccormick MiddleF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Emerald HighA− · 60% proficient
- Ninety Six HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Saluda HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kirksey school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kirksey 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 Kirksey against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Kirksey
Is Kirksey a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kirksey ranks 26,462nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, a stable housing market, and quiet, and lowest on walkability and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kirksey expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,025. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $61,423 median income, cost of living beats 35% of towns.
Is Kirksey safe?
Yes, Kirksey is safer than 62% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $384 per resident a year.
Compare Kirksey with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kirksey. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kirksey 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.
Kirksey detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kirksey: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kirksey: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kirksey: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kirksey: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kirksey 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.