As someone used to the Boston MA system, I'm impressed by the cleanliness and lack of homeless people and graffiti.
I believe London also has a significantly lower number of homeless people, although comparable statistics are hard to find.
Beggars and homeless people are common in London, but less common on the Tube since you can't get very far inside most stations without a ticket.
That said, I dont think of the T as particular grungy with graffiti its mostly just poorly maintained.