Best Places29212, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29212, 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.
29212 ranks 10,922nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on an educated workforce, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29212
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.
29212's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29212 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 29212 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 72 pleasant days a year, better than only 29% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 37% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 41% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29212
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29212 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,496, 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 29212's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 29212
29212 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 29212.
Who works in 29212, and how
Work in 29212 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 29212
29212 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 29212 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29212, month by month
29212 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 47° | 35° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 51° |
| July | 95° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 29212
The nearest airport, Columbia Metro, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29212
Schools across 29212 average a B−, better than 62% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brockman ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Meadow Glen ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Ballentine ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Meadow Glen MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Irmo MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Crossroads IntermediateB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- River Bluff HighA− · 65% proficient
- Dutch Fork HighA− · 65% proficient
- Irmo HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29212 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29212 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 29212 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 29212 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 75% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 29212
Is 29212 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29212 ranks 10,922nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, fast internet, and transit, and lowest on crime and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29212 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,566. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $79,496 median income, cost of living beats 75% of zip codes.
Is 29212 safe?
29212 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $671 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 29212?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 35. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of zip codes.
Is 29212 good for families?
Schools beat 62% of zip codes, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $912 a month.
Compare 29212 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29212. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29212 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.
29212 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29212: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29212: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29212: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29212: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29212 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.