Best PlacesWestminster, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Westminster, 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.
Westminster ranks 28,263rd of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Westminster
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.
Westminster's strengths and weaknesses
Where Westminster ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of towns
- Cheap childcare$552 a month, better than 87% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 77% of towns
Where Westminster ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 18% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 21% of towns
- Household income$58,216 median, better than only 24% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 25% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Westminster
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Westminster home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,216, 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 Westminster's effective rate of 0.37%, 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 Westminster
Westminster 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 Westminster.
Who works in Westminster, and how
Work in Westminster centers on manufacturing and health care & social. 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 Westminster
Westminster has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Westminster and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Westminster, month by month
Westminster sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 44° | 35° |
| April | 76° | 63° | 51° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Westminster
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around Westminster
Schools across Westminster average a B−, better than 65% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Northside ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Fair-oak ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Orchard Park ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Walhalla MiddleB− · 41% proficient
- Seneca MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- West Oak MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- West-oak HighA · 70% proficient
- Walhalla HighA · 69% proficient
- Seneca HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Westminster school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Westminster 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 Westminster against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Westminster
Is Westminster a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Westminster ranks 28,263rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, low property taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on an overheated housing market and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Westminster expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $174,011. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,216 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is Westminster safe?
Yes, Westminster is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
Compare Westminster with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Westminster. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Westminster 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.
Westminster detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Westminster: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Westminster: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Westminster: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Westminster: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Westminster 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.