Best PlacesOconee County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Oconee 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.
Oconee County ranks 1,268th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Oconee 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 Oconee County
The parts of Oconee 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.
Salem
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
West Union
It is quieter, though more homes sit empty.
Seneca
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Westminster
Homes cost less and crime runs lower.
Walhalla
Prices have run up less, though fewer residents vote.
Scores across Oconee County run from about the 9th to the 87th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Oconee County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Oconee County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of counties
- Cheap childcare$552 a month, better than 83% of counties
- TransitBetter than 77% of counties
Where Oconee County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 16% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 29% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 30% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 33% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Oconee County
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oconee County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $67,143; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Oconee County's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 Oconee County
Oconee County 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 Oconee County.
Who works in Oconee County, and how
Work in Oconee 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 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Oconee County
Oconee County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Oconee County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Oconee County growing, and who is moving in?
Oconee County has grown about 10% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Greenville, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Oconee County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Oconee County, month by month
Oconee County sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Oconee County
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 110 miles away.
The best schools in and around Oconee County
Schools across Oconee County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Clemson ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Townville ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Walhalla ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- R. C. Edwards MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Rosman MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Pickens MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- D. W. Daniel HighA · 76% proficient
- Pendleton HighA · 71% proficient
- West-oak HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oconee County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oconee 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 Oconee County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Oconee County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Oconee County
Is Oconee County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oconee County ranks 1,268th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, low property taxes, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oconee County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $294,701. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $67,143 median income, cost of living beats 56% of counties.
Is Oconee County safe?
Yes, Oconee County is safer than 58% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $401 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Oconee County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 33. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 45% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Oconee County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Salem, West Union, and Seneca. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Oconee County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oconee County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oconee 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.
Oconee County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oconee County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oconee County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oconee County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oconee County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oconee 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.