Best PlacesSaluda, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Saluda, 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.
Saluda ranks 33,026th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on low property taxes, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Saluda
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.
Saluda's strengths and weaknesses
Where Saluda ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of towns
- Cheap childcare$583 a month, better than 80% of towns
- QuietBetter than 78% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 76% of towns
Where Saluda ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of towns
- Household income$50,766 median, better than only 13% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 17% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Saluda
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Saluda home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,766, 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 Saluda's effective rate of 0.42%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Saluda
Saluda'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 Saluda.
Who works in Saluda, and how
Work in Saluda centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Saluda
Saluda has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Saluda and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Saluda, month by month
Saluda 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 Saluda
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Saluda
Schools across Saluda average a B−, better than 57% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hollywood ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- W. E. Parker ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Saluda ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westview MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Saluda MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Johnston-edgefield-trenton MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Emerald HighA− · 60% proficient
- Saluda HighB · 50% proficient
- Strom Thurmond HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Saluda school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Saluda 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 Saluda against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Saluda
Is Saluda a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Saluda ranks 33,026th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, walkability, and affordable childcare, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Saluda expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $124,707. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $50,766 median income, cost of living beats 10% of towns.
Is Saluda safe?
Saluda is safer than 27% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $505 per resident a year.
Compare Saluda with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Saluda. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Saluda 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.
Saluda detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Saluda: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Saluda: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Saluda: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Saluda: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Saluda 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.