Best Places29356, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29356, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
29356 ranks 12,504th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. An overheated housing market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 29356
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.
29356's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29356 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 29356 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 30% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29356
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29356 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,694, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 29356's effective rate of 0.53%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 29356
29356 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 29356.
Who works in 29356, and how
Work in 29356 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 29356
29356 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 29356 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29356, month by month
29356 sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 43° | 31° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 78° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 29356
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29356
Schools across 29356 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Saluda Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Tigerville ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Tryon Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Polk County Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Blue Ridge MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Landrum MiddleB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Polk County Early CollegeA · 75% proficient
- Landrum HighA− · 65% proficient
- Chapman HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29356 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29356 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 29356 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 29356
Is 29356 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29356 ranks 12,504th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low disaster risk, and health care access, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29356 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $363,725. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $74,694 median income, cost of living beats 55% of zip codes.
Is 29356 safe?
Yes, 29356 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
Compare 29356 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29356. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29356 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.
29356 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29356: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29356: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29356: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29356: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29356 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.