Best PlacesYork, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around York, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
York ranks 1,196th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in York
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.
York's strengths and weaknesses
Where York ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 84% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 73% of cities
Where York ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in York
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median York home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,337, 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's 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 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 York
York runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for York.
Who works in York, and how
Work in York centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in York
York has more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of York and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in York, month by month
York sees roughly 74 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
Charlotte/Douglas International sits about 20 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
Schools across York average a B, better than 65% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Griggs Road ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Bethel ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Mount Gallant ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oakridge MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Clover MiddleA · 59% proficient
- Dutchman Creek MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Clover HighA · 73% proficient
- York Comprehensive HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Northwestern HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every York school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
York 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 against the other 2,097 cities.
Who York suits
Common questions about living in York
Is York a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, York ranks 1,196th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and low property taxes, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is York expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,681. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $78,337 median income, cost of living beats 46% of cities.
Is York safe?
York is safer than 54% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $387 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in York?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 30. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of cities.
Is York good for families?
Schools beat 65% of cities, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Compare York with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to York. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in York 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for York: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in York: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of York: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in York: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
York 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.