Best Places to Live in South Carolina

South Carolina is known for golf, sandy beaches, Revolutionary War history and a whole lot more. It could be a great place for you to live. . . but which city is the best for you?

We’ll take a look at nine of the best places to live in South Carolina—and one that we think is way overrated. You’ll get to see the cost of living, home prices, fun things to do and more so you can make a wise decision about where to live in South Carolina. 

So grab some boiled peanuts to snack on and let’s go!

9 Best Places to Live in South Carolina

Real quick, let’s clear something up: The best place to live depends on what you need and want in a new city. Once you’re clear on that, you can start looking for cities that might work for you and your family.

It also depends on what you can afford—and part of that equation is how much it costs to move there, not just to live there. When you’re calculating the cost of moving, you’ll want to include everything, from the cost of gas to whether you plan to use a moving service or go the DIY route. 

To help you figure out what works best for you, we ranked the top nine places to live in South Carolina based on factors like income and affordability so you can better decide which one might be right for you.

1. Fort Mill

Fort Mill sits on the North Carolina border, near Charlotte. But since Fort Mill is actually in South Carolina, it’s still some distance from Charlotte’s urban sprawl—making it one of the best places to live and buy land.

With its high incomes, low cost of living and reasonable home prices, Fort Mill is a great place to reach for your financial goals. It’s also a super quiet town, so you just may want to raise your family there.

Fort Mill offers fun family activities, like the Anne Close Springs Greenway and Fort Mill History Museum. You can head to local parks or the Catawba River for fishing and wildlife viewing. Or drive up to Charlotte (one of the best places to live in North Carolina) for a day. If you go to the city, be sure to check out Carowinds amusement park.

Population	19,9201
Median Annual Income	$101,6992
Median Home Price	$409,5003
Median Monthly Rent*	$1,4654
Cost of Living	5% below national average5
Local University	Winthrop University
Average Annual Rainfall	43.5”6
Features	Affordable homes and living expenses, quiet community, and close proximity to Charlotte

^{*Median Monthly Rents refer to two-bedroom apartments.}

2. Lexington

Just outside Columbia, you’ll find Lexington. This suburb boasts affordable housing, low costs of living, and yearly salaries several thousand dollars higher than the national median of $64,994.⁷ Bonus: Lexington has the fewest rainy days of all the cities on our list!

See how much house you can afford with our free mortgage calculator!

Lexington is minutes from Lake Murray, where locals boat, swim and play with their kids and pets. You can also hike at Peachtree Rock Heritage Preserve, watch a baseball game at the Lexington County Stadium, or head to the Icehouse Amphitheater for an outdoor concert.

Indoors more your thing? Have a grown-ups’ night out at Grady’s, or take the kids to the Lexington County Museum.

Population	21,8478
Median Annual Income	$71,8509
Median Home Price	$303,90010
Median Monthly Rent	$1,28411
Cost of Living	6% below the national average12
Local Career School	Carolina Career School & Training Institute
Average Annual Rainfall	43.3”13
Features	Lots of outdoor activities and sunny days, as well as affordable housing and a low cost of living

3. Tega Cay

Like Fort Mill, Tega Cay is between the Catawba River and North Carolina—in fact, these two cities are neighbors! And while Tega Cay is the smallest city on our countdown, it makes up for it with the biggest yearly salaries. Cha-ching!  

In Tega Cay, you can visit the Museum of York County. You can also expect to spend lots of time outdoors: The city has multiple parks, a golf club and a boat marina. (It’s basically the best place to live in South Carolina for retirees.)

You’ll also find Nanny’s Mountain just outside town. During the Revolutionary War, people mined this mountain for iron ore to make cannons—and later, it may even have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.   

Population	10,83414
Median Annual Income	$125,84715
Median Home Price	$409,50016
Median Monthly Rent	$1,30017
Cost of Living	5% below national average18
Local University	Winthrop University
Average Annual Rainfall	43.5”19
Features	High yearly salaries, average housing prices, and outdoor activities like golf, hiking and boating

4. Clemson

Let’s head to the Appalachian Mountains! Clemson sits on the southwest side of the state, near Georgia, and it’s home to Clemson University. (Go Tigers!)

This small city ties with Greenville for the cheapest rent and lowest cost of living on our countdown. Thanks to its affordability and universities (Southern Wesleyan is also there), Clemson is one of the best places to live in South Carolina for young adults.

If you’re looking for something to do, you can always catch a game at one of Clemson’s athletic venues. There are museums about agriculture, geology, railroads, and the area’s African-American history. And you can visit the South Carolina Botanical Garden, Old Stone Church or Blue Hole Falls.

Population	16,91720
Median Annual Income	$46,07521
Median Home Price	$335,48022
Median Monthly Rent	$1,11323
Cost of Living	10% below the national average24
Local University	Clemson University Southern Wesleyan University
Average Annual Rainfall	48”25
Features	Two universities, lowest cost of living, and tons of sports events, museums and outdoor activities

5. Columbia

Columbia—the state capital—is smack in the middle of South Carolina. It’s a big city with lots of neighborhoods, so do your research to find the one where you’ll feel most at home. (Locals rate Forest Acres, Irmo, Seven Oaks and Blythewood as four of the best places to live in South Carolina for families.)

Columbia has gobs of things to do! You can enjoy the Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina State Museum, or the four-story, interactive Richland Library. Take a historic tour of the city, or hop on a bicycle bar for a night to remember. Or shop your way through the Divine District and historic Five Points (without going into debt, that is).

Outdoor attractions include Riverbanks Zoo, Congaree National Park, and Columbia Fireflies baseball games. Want to do something unusual? Watch a live puppet performance at the Columbia Marionette Theater. With so much to see and do, Columbia is one of the best places to live in South Carolina for singles!

Population	134,05726
Median Annual Income	$47,41627
Median Home Price	$303,90028
Median Monthly Rent	$1,25429
Cost of Living	6% below the national average30
Local University	University of South Carolina
Average Annual Rainfall	43.9”31
Features	Endless opportunities to have fun with your friends and family, low home prices, and an overall low cost of living

6. Greenville

Compared to other South Carolina cities, Greenville runs in the middle of the pack for—well, almost everything. It’s medium-sized with reasonable salaries and fairly low housing prices. But it wins one category: Greenville ties with Clemson for the lowest cost of living in South Carolina. Woot woot!

In Greenville, you can find just about any outdoor adventure you want. America’s steepest, fastest zipline? Check. Whitewater rafting? Check. Classes that’ll teach you to tear up the track in a performance car? Check.

Greenville offers lots of laid-back options too. You can eat and drink your way through town on almost a dozen food and beer tours, attend the Carolina Ballet, or see the masterpieces at the Artists Guild Gallery—the oldest art co-op in town. For sports, take your pick from pro baseball, soccer or hockey. And for families, there’s always the zoo, children’s museum, and Mice on Main scavenger hunt.

Population	69,64832
Median Annual Income	$58,25933
Median Home Price	$335,48034
Median Monthly Rent	$1,25135
Cost of Living	10% below the national average36
Local University	Furman University
Average Annual Rainfall	47.9”37
Features	Low cost of living, outdoor adventures, pro sports teams and family-friendly activities

7. Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant has the second-highest incomes on our list—good thing, since housing is so expensive there! Monthly rents are nearly double the national median, while home prices are more than $170,000 above median.^38,39

But if you can handle the housing prices, this Charleston suburb could be one of the best places to live in South Carolina. Mount Pleasant is minutes from the beach. It’s also near the Francis Marion National Forest and Bonneau Ferry Wildlife Management Area.

History buffs can visit the home of Charles Pinckney, who signed the U.S. Constitution, and historic sites at Sullivan’s Island and Moultrieville. Other points of interest include Palmetto Fort, Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, and Fort Sumter—where the first shot in the Civil War was fired.

Population	89,41040
Median Annual Income	$104,77241
Median Home Price	$576,75042
Median Monthly Rent	$2,01143
Cost of Living	Same as national average44
Local University and College	Medical University of South Carolina Trident Technical College
Average Annual Rainfall	51.3”45
Features	National historic sites, beaches and islands, high incomes, and high home prices

8. Hilton Head Island

Hilton Head Island is located between two other famous islands: Tybee and Parris. (Tybee Island’s just off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, and Parris Island is home to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.)

Hilton Head has the most expensive rent on our countdown, likely because it’s a beach town with lots of seasonal rentals. So you’ll want to figure out just how much rent you can afford before you move.

Since Hilton Head is an island, you can lounge on the beach to your heart’s content. You can also visit dozens of restaurants and shops. And while you’re at it, the King Neptune Sundial is worth seeing.  

Other cool places on the island include the Coastal Discovery Museum, Harbor Town Lighthouse and the Stoney Baynard Ruins. Or you can drive back to the mainland to visit Palmetto Oaks Sculpture Garden, Heyward House Museum or the Pinckney Wildlife Preserve.

Population	40,00046
Median Annual Income	$86,17147
Median Home Price	$552,00048
Median Monthly Rent	$1,54549
Local University	University of South Carolina Beaufort-Hilton Head Island
Average Annual Rainfall	45.7”50
Features	Beaches, lighthouses, boardwalks, historic ruins and high housing prices

9. Charleston

Charleston sits in the center of South Carolina’s coast. The biggest city on our countdown, it’s got the most expensive homes and highest cost of living. So if you’re heading to Charleston, make sure to plan your housing budget wisely.

Charleston’s catchphrase is “History loves company,” and if you love history, this could be one of the best places for you to live in South Carolina. Spend a romantic night in the historic Middleton Place, a plantation turned into an upscale inn. Or walk Rainbow Row, a street of beautifully painted Georgian homes. (Remember to go to the Pineapple Fountain for a photo op.)

Not feeling fancy? Head to the Audubon Swamp Garden to see some real live alligators. Or take a pirate-themed tour of Charleston—complete with a pirate captain who carries an actual parrot and tells ghost stories! (Don’t worry: If you’ve got little ones, you can sign up for the treasure hunt tour instead.)

Population	137,04151
Median Annual Income	$72,07152
Median Home Price	$576,75053
Median Monthly Rent	$1,57154
Cost of Living	Same as national average55
Local Colleges	College of Charleston The Citadel (The Military College of South Carolina)
Average Annual Rainfall	47.9”56
Features	Historic plantations, pirate-themed tours and a high cost of living

Where Not to Live in South Carolina

There’s a lot to be excited about in most of the cities on our list, but this next one gets mixed reviews at best. It shows up on a ton of “best places” lists, and a lot of you have asked if it’s really as great as they say. Let’s take a closer look at the numbers so you can decide for yourself.

Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach may be a vacation hot spot, but for residents, it’s tough to make a living there. The city’s housing prices are around the national median, but yearly incomes are more than $20,000 below the national median. ^57,58 So it can be hard to save for a down payment or afford your mortgage.

Myrtle Beach also had 124 crimes for every 1,000 residents in 2019—that’s five times more than the national average crime rate.^59,60 The sort-of-good news is that those were mostly property crimes, like home and car break-ins, and not violent crimes. But you work hard for your stuff, and you shouldn’t have to worry about some idiot stealing it!

Now, we’re not saying you can’t live in Myrtle Beach. We’re just saying you should weigh the pros and cons carefully—just like any other city you might move to—and know what you’re getting into.

If you do move to Myrtle Beach, you’ll get to enjoy living near the ocean. You can also check out Ripley’s Aquarium and Believe It or Not! Museum, Wheels of Yesteryear Vintage Auto Museum, and WonderWorks indoor amusement park. (The museums will come in handy on all the rainy days in Myrtle Beach.)

Population	33,63861
Median Annual Income	$43,37862
Median Home Price	$399,90063
Median Monthly Rent	$1,28564
Local University	Coastal Carolina University
Average Annual Rainfall	53.3”65
Features	Low incomes, lots of property crimes, cool museums and aquariums, and lots of beaches

Ready to Move to South Carolina?

Moving to South Carolina is exciting—it’s a great state! But before you start packing, you’ll need to find an expert real estate agent to help you pick the perfect home in your new city.

We recommend working with a RamseyTrusted real estate agents. These pros can help you locate the best place to live in South Carolina for you. From finding a family-friendly neighborhood to closing on your new house, they’ll walk you through the process from start to finish.

Ready to get started? Connect with a RamseyTrusted agent today!

Fast Facts for the Top Places to Live in South Carolina
	Population	Median Annual Income	Median Home Price	Median Monthly  Rent
Fort Mill	19,920	$101,699	$409,500	$1,465
Lexington	21,847	$71,850	$303,900	$1,284
Tega Cay	10,834	$125,847	$409,500	$1,300
Clemson	16,917	$46,075	$335,480	$1,113
Columbia	134,057	$47,416	$303,900	$1,254
Greenville	69,648	$58,259	$335,480	$1,251
Mount Pleasant	89,410	$104,772	$576,750	$2,011
Hilton Head Island	40,000	$86,171	$552,000	$1,545
Charleston	137,041	$72,071	$576,750	$1,571
Myrtle Beach	33,638	$43,378	$399,900	$1,285