Best Places29617, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29617, 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.
29617 ranks 18,970th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on low disaster risk, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29617
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.
29617's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29617 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 29617 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Household income$60,465 median, better than only 25% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29617
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29617 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,465, 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 29617's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 29617
29617 runs younger 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 29617.
Who works in 29617, and how
Work in 29617 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 29617
29617 has more parkland per resident than 71% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 29617 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29617, month by month
29617 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 51° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 78° | 65° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 29617
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29617
Schools across 29617 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gateway ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Duncan Chapel ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Dacusville ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dacusville MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Berea MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Tanglewood MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Wade Hampton HighA · 70% proficient
- Travelers Rest HighA− · 65% proficient
- Pickens HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29617 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29617 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 29617 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 29617 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 29617
Is 29617 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29617 ranks 18,970th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, fast internet, and transit, and lowest on an overheated housing market and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29617 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $233,365. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $60,465 median income, cost of living beats 29% of zip codes.
Is 29617 safe?
29617 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 29617?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 33. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of zip codes.
Is 29617 good for families?
Schools beat 42% of zip codes, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $923 a month.
Compare 29617 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29617. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29617 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.
29617 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29617: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29617: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29617: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29617: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29617 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.