Best Places29420, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29420, 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.
29420 ranks 14,703rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Disaster risk pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in 29420
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.
29420's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29420 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 29420 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29420
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29420 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $88,249; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 29420's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 29420
29420 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 29420.
Who works in 29420, and how
Work in 29420 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 29420
The coast is about 28 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 29420, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29420, month by month
29420 sees roughly 82 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 29420
Charleston AFB/International sits about 4 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.2 million passengers in 2025, with 95 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 29420
Schools across 29420 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Beech Hill ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Montessori Community SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Joseph R. Pye ElementaryB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rollings Middle School Of The ArtsA+ · 78% proficient
- Oakbrook MiddleC · 35% proficient
- River Oaks MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Ashley Ridge HighA · 78% proficient
- Fort Dorchester HighA · 69% proficient
- Rb Stall HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29420 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29420 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 29420 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 29420 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 29420
Is 29420 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29420 ranks 14,703rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, biking, and transit, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29420 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $355,472. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $88,249 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 29420 safe?
29420 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $462 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 29420?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 38. That works out to about 82 pleasant days a year, more than 47% of zip codes.
Is 29420 good for families?
Schools beat 60% of zip codes, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $912 a month.
Compare 29420 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29420. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29420 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.
29420 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29420: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29420: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29420: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29420: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29420 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.