Best Places29203, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29203, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
29203 ranks 31,185th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29203
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
29203's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29203 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Short commute22.0 minutes each way, better than 76% of zip codes
Where 29203 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Household income$49,057 median, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29203
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29203 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,057, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 29203's effective rate of 0.51%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 29203
29203 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 29203.
Who works in 29203, and how
Work in 29203 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 29203
29203 has more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 29203 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29203, month by month
29203 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| April | 80° | 66° | 52° |
| July | 94° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 29203
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29203
Schools across 29203 average a D+, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brockman ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Muller Road MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Forest Lake ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Longleaf MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Dent MiddleC · 32% proficient
- W. G. Sanders MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Sc Whitmore SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Westwood HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Richland Northeast HighC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29203 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29203 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 29203 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 29203 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 29203
Is 29203 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29203 ranks 31,185th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, fast internet, and low property taxes, and lowest on crime and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29203 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,690. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $49,057 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 29203 safe?
29203 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 29203?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 36. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 37% of zip codes.
Is 29203 good for families?
Schools beat 20% of zip codes, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $923 a month.
Compare 29203 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29203. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29203 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
29203 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29203: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29203: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29203: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29203: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29203 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.