Best PlacesLancaster County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lancaster County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lancaster County ranks 603rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lancaster 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.
The best areas in Lancaster County
The parts of Lancaster County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Indian Land & Fort Mill
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Kershaw & Heath Springs
Prices have run up less, though more homes sit empty.
Lancaster
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Lancaster County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Lancaster County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lancaster County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 84% of counties
- Household income$85,992 median, better than 83% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 77% of counties
Where Lancaster County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$954 a month, better than only 21% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 21% of counties
- Short commute28.8 minutes each way, better than only 21% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 35% of counties
- TransitBetter than only 35% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lancaster County
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lancaster County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,992, 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 Lancaster County's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lancaster County
Lancaster County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lancaster County.
Who works in Lancaster County, and how
Work in Lancaster County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Lancaster County
Lancaster County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lancaster County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lancaster County growing, and who is moving in?
Lancaster County has grown about 34% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Charlotte, NC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lancaster County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lancaster County, month by month
Lancaster County sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Lancaster County
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 30 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 Lancaster County
Schools across Lancaster County average a B−, better than 74% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Marvin ElementaryA+ · 86% proficient
- Sandy Ridge ElementaryA+ · 84% proficient
- Kensington ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marvin Ridge MiddleA+ · 89% proficient
- Community House MiddleA+ · 81% proficient
- Fort Mill MiddleA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Marvin Ridge HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Ardrey Kell High SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Nation Ford HighA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lancaster County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lancaster 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 Lancaster County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lancaster County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lancaster County
Is Lancaster County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lancaster County ranks 603rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, a strong job market, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lancaster County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,565. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $85,992 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is Lancaster County safe?
Lancaster County is safer than 49% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $452 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lancaster County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 34. That works out to about 81 pleasant days a year, more than 40% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Lancaster County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Indian Land & Fort Mill, Kershaw & Heath Springs, and Lancaster. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Lancaster County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lancaster County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lancaster 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.
Lancaster County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lancaster County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lancaster County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lancaster County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lancaster County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lancaster 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.