BereaSC
A town of 16,862. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Is Berea a good place to live?
Berea grades C overall, 89th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 85% of South Carolina towns and natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, residents are less healthy than 88% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Berea, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 6 of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare have a lower July high than Berea.
What makes Berea stand out
Where Berea beats most towns.
98% of working residents leave Berea for work
Where Berea’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Berea grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Berea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Blue Ridge Parkway and 25 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berea. Close and well known come first.
37 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
26 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium, Clemson
5 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
25 mi LakeLake Keowee
26 mi LakeLake Jocassee
38 mi National forestPisgah National ForestPhoto credits
Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Memorial Stadium, Clemson: Caseyh at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Keowee: Inundated_38Oc1.jpg: Matthew T. Bradley from Berkshire County, Mass., USA deriva, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Jocassee: Clemson3564, Public domain · Pisgah National Forest: Ken Thomas, Public domain
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Moving to Berea: who provides what
Berea is unincorporated, so Greenville County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Berea.
Berea is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina.
Berea’s grade for health is a D
Against the 5,739 U.S. towns with household incomes like Berea’s, it is less healthy than 71%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
29% of adults worry about having enough food in Berea. Berea beats the South Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 35% of adults get no exercise outside work in Berea.
| Berea | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 21% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 22% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Berea | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 22.7% | 11.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.3% | 17.4% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 20.7% | 13.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Berea’s grade for schools is an A
Its public schools are run by the Greenville 01 school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Berea High, with 1,250 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berea ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 489 | B− |
| Berea HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,250 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Berea’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Berea for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Berea grew to 1,862 in 2023, 204 more than in 2013. The median household income in Berea is $50,000.
| Berea | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $50,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 8.8% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Berea faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1995, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berea.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mild winters and hot summers in Berea
July afternoons average 88.5°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 96% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 32.2°.
Berea has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Berea’s January low is 32°F. About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median home in Berea sells for about $270K
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Berea
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Berea
About 4 of every 100 Berea residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
About Berea
CDP in South Carolina, United States
Berea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,295 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 8.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,040 ft
Berea’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Berea.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berea | #89 | C | B− | — | A | D |
| Parker | #76 | C+ | B | — | A | D− |
| Sans Souci | #43 | B | B− | — | A | C |
Berea, Parker and Sans Souci report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Berea with a neighbor →
Questions about Berea
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Berea, SC a good place to live?
Berea grades C overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #89 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D for health and A for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Berea, SC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $205,000, 33% below the South Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.