Best Places29902, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29902, 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.
29902 ranks 21,201st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Disaster risk pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on short commutes.
The best neighborhoods in 29902
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.
29902's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29902 ranks high
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 86% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 29902 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29902
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29902 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,802, 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 29902'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, 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 29902
29902'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 29902.
Who works in 29902, and how
Work in 29902 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 29902
29902 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 29902 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29902, month by month
29902 sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 50° | 43° |
| April | 76° | 66° | 59° |
| July | 90° | 82° | 76° |
| October | 78° | 69° | 63° |
Flying in and out of 29902
The nearest airport, Hilton Head, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29902
Schools across 29902 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Port Royal ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Beaufort ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Mossy Oaks ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lady's Island MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Beaufort MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Beaufort HighA− · 61% proficient
- Battery Creek HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29902 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29902 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 29902 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 29902
Is 29902 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29902 ranks 21,201st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, an educated workforce, and low property taxes, 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 29902 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,962. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $69,802 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 29902 safe?
29902 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $515 per resident a year.
Compare 29902 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29902. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29902 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.
29902 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29902: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29902: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29902: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29902: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29902 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.