Best Places29434, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29434, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
29434 ranks 31,465th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29434
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.
29434's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29434 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 70% of zip codes
Where 29434 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29434
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29434 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,729, 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 29434's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 29434
29434's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 29434.
Who works in 29434, and how
Work in 29434 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 97%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 29434
The coast is about 46 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 29434, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29434, month by month
29434 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 47° | 39° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 72° |
| October | 77° | 66° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 29434
Charleston AFB/International sits about 21 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 29434
Schools across 29434 average a B−, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Henry E. Bonner ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Macedonia MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Berkeley MiddleC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29434 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29434 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 29434 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 29434
Is 29434 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29434 ranks 31,465th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and fast internet, and lowest on disaster risk and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29434 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,200. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $51,729 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 29434 safe?
29434 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $582 per resident a year.
Compare 29434 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29434. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29434 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.
29434 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29434: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29434: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29434: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29434: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29434 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.