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Place dossier plate
SheetSC-CLIFTON-SC · Clifton, SC 861 pop · income 17th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Clifton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Clifton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lincolnville · lowest
36,538
Lincolnville · lowest
36,538 median HH income
38.1% of the leader · rank #1
Terry · near
48,354
Terry · near
48,354 median HH income
50.4% of the leader · rank #2
Dripping Spri… · near
48,355
Dripping Spri… · near
48,355 median HH income
50.4% of the leader · rank #3
Johnson · near
48,355
Johnson · near
48,355 median HH income
50.4% of the leader · rank #4
Clifton · this city
48,357
Clifton · this city
48,357 median HH income
50.4% of the leader · rank #5
Geneva · near
48,357
Geneva · near
48,357 median HH income
50.4% of the leader · rank #6
Arcadia Lakes · highest
96,000
Arcadia Lakes · highest
96,000 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Clifton on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 861.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Clifton lands in the 17th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
17th
percentile, household income
15th
percentile, home value
46th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Clifton, SC
Clifton is a small town in South Carolina, home to 861 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $48,357 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 57.9%. Home values in Clifton run a median of $115,000, and the median resident age is 31.5 years. About 0.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 64.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in South Carolina run below the national norm: the state registers 93.7 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,155 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $224 across South Carolina, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.7 out of 100 (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Clifton's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from housing and income to comparison shortlist to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Clifton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
How far does income reach against housing in Clifton?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 57.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Which cities make useful reference points for Clifton?
Within South Carolina, the closest population matches are Quinby (865 residents, $65,208 income); East Sumter (852 residents); Ridge Spring (848 residents, $38,854 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pine Hill, AL (861 residents); Geary, OK (861 residents); Pettit, OK (861 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
What does the journey to work look like in Clifton?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 85.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Low income · poverty 57.9% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
93.7 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, South Carolina average
F
City profile score · Clifton, SC
23/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B
93.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$48,357
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
57.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
0.0%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Clifton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 70/100 (B) · 93.7 index
Household income: 18/100 (F) · $48,357
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 57.9%
Bachelor's+ share: 0/100 (F) · 0.0%
How does Clifton compare to other US cities?
Where Clifton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income17% higher than other cities
Home value15% pricier than other cities
Median rent46% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Clifton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to South Carolina only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
South Carolina-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Clifton near the bottom of South Carolina's cities
Among the 441 South Carolina cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Clifton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Clifton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#227 of 403
44th percentile in South Carolina
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 441
0th percentile in South Carolina
Median Home Value
#267 of 404
34th percentile in South Carolina
Poverty Rate
#8 of 439
98th percentile in South Carolina
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#430 of 441
0th percentile in South Carolina
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within South Carolina only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
17th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Clifton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$115,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 85% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Clifton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,370 of 15,516
More affordable than 78% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,079 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Clifton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,370 of 15,516 and #3,079 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$48,357Clifton, SC median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Clifton, SC median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Clifton, SC.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)0.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)57.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
861
Median Income
$48,357
Median Home Value
$115,000
Median Age
31.5
Poverty Rate
57.9%
Labor force participation
64.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
0.0%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
85.8%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Other
14.2%
Based on 316 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
South Carolina statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $224
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across South Carolina at $224 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are South Carolina statewide averages, not a meter reading for Clifton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
South Carolina's BEA cost-of-living index is 93.7 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Clifton is $1,155/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to South Carolina statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.7 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a South Carolina statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Clifton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Clifton compares to similar-size South Carolina cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.