Best PlacesSouth Hills, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Hills, 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.
South Hills ranks 44,414th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Hills
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.
South Hills' strengths and weaknesses
Where South Hills ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of towns
- Cheap childcare$552 a month, better than 87% of towns
- QuietBetter than 79% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 71% of towns
Where South Hills ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$43,547 median, better than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Hills
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Hills home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $43,547, 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 Hills' effective rate of 0.58%, 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 South Hills
South Hills's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 South Hills.
Who works in South Hills, and how
Work in South Hills centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 98%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in South Hills
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Hills.
What the weather is like in South Hills, month by month
South Hills sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 43° | 35° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of South Hills
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Hills
Schools across South Hills average a C, better than 40% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Monarch ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Buffalo ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sims MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Union County HighB− · 45% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Hills school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Hills 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 Hills against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Hills
Is South Hills a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Hills ranks 44,414th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, a stable housing market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on a weak job market and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Hills expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $120,973. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $43,547 median income, cost of living beats 7% of towns.
Is South Hills safe?
South Hills is safer than 17% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $569 per resident a year.
Compare South Hills with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Hills. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Hills 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 Hills detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Hills: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Hills: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Hills: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Hills: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Hills 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.