Best PlacesSouth Carolina Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in South Carolina, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Carolina ranks 41st of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on disaster risk and walkability. It does better on quiet, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in South Carolina
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 South Carolina
The counties of South Carolina, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
York County & Lancaster County
Disaster risk is lower, fewer homes sit empty, and local pay stretches further.
Greenville County, Spartanburg County & Anderson County
Heat risk is lower.
Aiken County
Prices have run up less.
Charleston County, Berkeley County & Dorchester County
Incomes run higher, though homes cost more.
Richland County & Lexington County
Crime runs higher.
Greenwood County, Newberry County & Abbeville County
It is quieter, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Horry County & Florence County
Health outcomes score lower and big-city amenities are further off.
Beaufort County & Orangeburg County
Tree cover is thicker, though schools score lower.
Chesterfield County & Marlboro County
Health care is harder to reach and biking is worse.
South Carolina shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
South Carolina's strengths and weaknesses
South Carolina ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Quiet, low property taxes, and good schools carry most of that.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: disaster risk, walkability, and biking all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where South Carolina ranks high
- QuietBetter than 85% of states
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of states
- School gradeB−, better than 79% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 72% of states
- Local economyBetter than 70% of states
Where South Carolina ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of states
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of states
- BikingBetter than only 8% of states
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of states
- Household income$75,918 median, better than only 17% of states
What it costs to buy a home in South Carolina
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Carolina home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,918, 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 South Carolina's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Carolina
South Carolina'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 South Carolina.
Who works in South Carolina, and how
Work in South Carolina 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 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in South Carolina
South Carolina has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of states and less parkland per resident than most states. South Carolina has 187 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Carolina and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Carolina, month by month
South Carolina sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 58° |
The best schools in and around South Carolina
Schools across South Carolina average a B−, better than 79% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Marvin ElementaryA+ · 86% proficient
- Daniel Island SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Augusta Circle ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buist AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
- Marvin Ridge MiddleA+ · 89% proficient
- Pleasant Knoll MiddleA+ · 81% proficient
Top high schools
- Academic Magnet HighA+ · 98% proficient
- Scotland Early College HighA+ · 95% proficient
- Aiken Scholars AcademyA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Carolina school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Carolina 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 South Carolina against the other 49 states.
Who South Carolina suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in South Carolina
Is South Carolina a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Carolina ranks 41st of 50 states. It scores highest on quiet, low property taxes, and good schools, and lowest on disaster risk and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Carolina expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $293,897. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $75,918 median income, cost of living beats 33% of states.
Is South Carolina safe?
South Carolina is safer than 15% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $551 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Carolina?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 38. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of states.
What are the best areas in South Carolina?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are York County & Lancaster County, Greenville County, Spartanburg County & Anderson County, and Aiken County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is South Carolina good for families?
Schools beat 79% of states, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $848 a month.
Is South Carolina good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 33% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 62% of states. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare South Carolina with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Carolina. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Carolina 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.
South Carolina detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Carolina: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Carolina: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Carolina: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Carolina: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Carolina 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.
- 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.