Best PlacesNewberry County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Newberry County, 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.
Newberry County ranks 1,842nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Newberry 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.
Newberry County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Newberry County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of counties
- Cheap childcare$552 a month, better than 83% of counties
- TransitBetter than 75% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 68% of counties
Where Newberry County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 25% of counties
- Short commute27.2 minutes each way, better than only 29% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 31% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Newberry County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Newberry County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,359, 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 Newberry County's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 Newberry County
Newberry 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 Newberry County.
Who works in Newberry County, and how
Work in Newberry 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 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Newberry County
Newberry County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 91% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Newberry County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Newberry County growing, and who is moving in?
Newberry County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Columbia, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Newberry County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Newberry County, month by month
Newberry County sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 44° | 36° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Newberry County
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Newberry County
Schools across Newberry County average a C+, better than 59% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ninety Six ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Hollywood ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Little Mountain ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chapin IntermediateA · 64% proficient
- Mid-carolina MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Edgewood MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Chapin HighA+ · 80% proficient
- Mid-carolina HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Ninety Six HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Newberry County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Newberry 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 Newberry County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Newberry County suits
Common questions about living in Newberry County
Is Newberry County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Newberry County ranks 1,842nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, affordable childcare, and transit, and lowest on walkability 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 Newberry County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $188,381. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $63,359 median income, cost of living beats 25% of counties.
Is Newberry County safe?
Newberry County is safer than 40% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $447 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Newberry County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 36. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 49% of counties.
Is Newberry County good for families?
Schools beat 59% of counties, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $552 a month.
Compare Newberry County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Newberry County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Newberry 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.
Newberry County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Newberry County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Newberry County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Newberry County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Newberry County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Newberry 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.