Best PlacesYork County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in York County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
York County ranks 167th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $97,461, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are an overheated housing market, the weather, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in York County
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 York County
The parts of York County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Fort Mill
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Lake Wylie & Tega Cay
More households have young kids and schools score higher.
Clover
It is quieter and homes cost less.
Catawba
Tree cover is thicker.
York
Prices have run up less, though health outcomes score lower.
Rock Hill
Crime runs higher and fewer residents vote.
York County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 7% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
York County's strengths and weaknesses
York County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. What local pay buys, few empty homes, and high incomes carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. An overheated housing market, the weather, and childcare costs hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where York County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
- Household income$97,461 median, better than 91% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 88% of counties
Where York County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 27% of counties
- Cheap childcare$908 a month, better than only 27% of counties
- Short commute27.2 minutes each way, better than only 29% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 38% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in York County
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median York County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $97,461, 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 York County's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in York County
York County'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 York County.
Who works in York County, and how
Work in York County 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 79%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in York County
York County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of York County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is York County growing, and who is moving in?
York County has grown about 24% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Charlotte, NC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving York County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in York County, month by month
York County sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 42° | 30° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 47° |
| July | 92° | 80° | 69° |
| October | 78° | 63° | 50° |
Flying in and out of York County
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 16 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.9 million passengers in 2025, with 213 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around York County
Schools across York County average a B+, better than 88% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Griggs Road ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Tega Cay ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Gold Hill ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pleasant Knoll MiddleA+ · 81% proficient
- Gold Hill MiddleA+ · 73% proficient
- Banks Trail MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Mill HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Nation Ford HighA+ · 83% proficient
- Clover HighA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every York County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
York County 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 York County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who York County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in York County
Is York County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, York County ranks 167th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, few empty homes, and high incomes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is York County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $372,752. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $97,461 median income, cost of living beats 95% of counties.
Is York County safe?
Yes, York County is safer than 79% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $351 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in York County?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 30. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in York County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Fort Mill, Lake Wylie & Tega Cay, and Clover. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is York County good for families?
Schools beat 88% of counties, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Is York County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 86% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare York County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to York County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in York County 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.
York County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for York County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in York County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of York County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in York County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
York County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.