Best Places29631, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29631, 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.
29631 ranks 12,303rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29631
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.
29631's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29631 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 29631 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Household income$51,105 median, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29631
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29631 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $51,105, 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 29631's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 29631
29631 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 29631.
Who works in 29631, and how
Work in 29631 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 29631
29631 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 29631 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29631, month by month
29631 sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 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 | 75° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 29631
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29631
Schools across 29631 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Clemson ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Central Academy Of The ArtsB− · 40% proficient
- Pendleton ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- R. C. Edwards MiddleA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- D. W. Daniel HighA · 76% proficient
- Pendleton HighA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29631 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29631 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 29631 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 29631
Is 29631 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29631 ranks 12,303rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, good schools, and short commutes, 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 29631 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $389,052. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $51,105 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 29631 safe?
29631 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $454 per resident a year.
Compare 29631 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29631. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29631 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.
29631 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29631: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29631: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29631: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29631: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29631 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.