Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Measured against area pay, Clinton costs less to live in than 76% of U.S. towns
It ranks #35 of 168 in South Carolina for affordability. Down 3.2% in a year, 43% below the South Carolina typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metro area ($71K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Greenville metro earn ($71K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.4 years of metro income, and 49% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $173Ktypical home, 43% below the South Carolina typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,150a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 93prices across the Greenville metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 77)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.4 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$71K, Greenville-area income
- 15%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 49%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across South Carolina: 52%Census 2020–24
- 19%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Clinton’s housing numbers say
Prices are 28% below their 2022 peak
The typical Clinton home peaked at $240K in August 2022 and is worth about $173K now. Across South Carolina, values are at or near their high. Over five years, Clinton is down 20%. Price trend ↓
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in September, it would take about 6.7 months to sell everything listed (South Carolina: 4.6). The typical home took 54 days to sell and sold at 97% of asking. None sold above the asking price. How fast homes sell ↓
Owning can cost less than renting
With 20% down at the calculator’s rate, the typical Clinton home runs about $990 a month with tax and insurance. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,150. Can I afford it? ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Clinton lost 857 residents while 118 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
A burst of building in 2022
Clinton permitted 98 new homes in 2022, 61% of them in buildings with two or more homes, against about 24 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 67. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Clinton’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Clinton is more affordable than 76% of U.S. towns, #35 of 168 in South Carolina. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have lagged South Carolina: the typical Clinton home is down 20.0% in five years, against 23.7% statewide (Zillow).
Down 20% in five years
Slower than South Carolina (23.7%).
Show as a table
| January | Clinton | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $170,000 | $170,000 |
| 2018 | $171,000 | $179,000 |
| 2019 | $185,000 | $189,000 |
| 2020 | $189,000 | $199,000 |
| 2021 | $209,000 | $221,000 |
| 2022 | $221,000 | $259,000 |
| 2023 | $230,000 | $289,000 |
| 2024 | $201,000 | $299,000 |
| 2025 | $197,000 | $304,000 |
| 2026 | $181,000 | $304,000 |
| September 2026 | $173,000 | $304,000 |
A typical Clinton home worth $167K in October 2016 is worth about $173K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 8 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 2.4 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Clinton’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Clinton home, with $116K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,150 a month here, $160 more than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Clinton’s typical property tax (0.58% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,150
Renters already here pay a median of $899, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Laurens County, SC HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
67 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 67 new homes in Clinton in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $14.7 million to build. That's 8.7 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of South Carolina as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Clinton has permitted 316 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Clinton's population fell by 857 even though 118 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across South Carolina: 1.8 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 41 | 41 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2025 | 67 | 67 | 0 | $14.7 million |
| 2024 | 60 | 60 | 0 | $8 million |
| 2023 | 50 | 50 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| 2022 | 98 | 38 | 60 | $9.9 million |
| 2021 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2020 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $527,000 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $646,000 |
| 2018 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2017 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $262,000 |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $178,000 |
| 2015 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 38 | 8 | 30 | $2.2 million |
| 2012 | 33 | 3 | 30 | $1.9 million |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 19 | 1 | 18 | $1.2 million |
| 2009 | 41 | 1 | 40 | $2.5 million |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $206,000 |
| 2007 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $118,000 |
| 2006 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $245,000 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 10 | 8 | 2 | $705,000 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $72,000 |
| 2001 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $104,000 |
| 2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $240,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $1,011, under the South Carolina median of $1,251, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 0.58% a year, against 0.48% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Clinton
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metro area, or South Carolina. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 93 | SC 94 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | SC 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 89 | SC 88 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | SC 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Clinton and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | A− | $173K | $173K | 0.58% | $1,150 |
Questions about the cost of living in Clinton
Is Clinton expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Clinton costs less than 76% of U.S. towns: an A− for cost of living, #35 of 168 in South Carolina. The typical home costs 2.4 years of the median household income of the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metro area ($71K).
How much does a house cost in Clinton?
About $173K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 3.2% in a year. The South Carolina typical home is $304K.
What salary do you need to live in Clinton?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $42,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $990 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $46,000.
How much is rent in Clinton?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,150 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $899 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Clinton?
The median bill is $1,011 a year, 0.58% of the median home value (South Carolina: $1,251, 0.48%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Clinton going up?
No: down 3.2% in the past year and -20.0% in five years, against 23.7% across South Carolina (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Clinton buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.