Best PlacesSimpson, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Simpson, 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.
Simpson ranks 39,562nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Simpson
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.
Simpson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Simpson ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 90% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of towns
- Cheap childcare$581 a month, better than 80% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 76% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 71% of towns
Where Simpson ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Simpson
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Simpson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,398, 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 Simpson's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Simpson
Simpson'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 Simpson.
Who works in Simpson, and how
Work in Simpson centers on health care & social and other services. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Simpson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Simpson.
What the weather is like in Simpson, month by month
Simpson sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 45° | 37° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 52° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 76° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Simpson
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around Simpson
Schools across Simpson average a D+, better than 17% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Geiger ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Kelly Miller ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Fairfield ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairfield Central HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Simpson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Simpson 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 Simpson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Simpson
Is Simpson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Simpson ranks 39,562nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low property taxes, fast internet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on crime and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Simpson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,892. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $71,398 median income, cost of living beats 41% of towns.
Is Simpson safe?
Simpson is safer than 3% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $993 per resident a year.
Compare Simpson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Simpson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Simpson 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.
Simpson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Simpson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Simpson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Simpson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Simpson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Simpson 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.