Best Places29909, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29909, 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.
29909 ranks 10,231st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29909
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.
29909's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29909 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 29909 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29909
A household needs to earn about $131,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29909 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,488, 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 29909's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 29909
29909 runs older 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 29909.
Who works in 29909, and how
Work in 29909 centers on retail trade and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 29909
29909 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 19 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 29909 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29909, month by month
29909 sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 51° | 44° |
| April | 75° | 67° | 60° |
| July | 89° | 83° | 77° |
| October | 78° | 71° | 64° |
Flying in and out of 29909
The nearest airport, Hilton Head, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29909
Schools across 29909 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- River Ridge AcademyA · 62% proficient
- Pritchardville ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Okatie ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bluffton MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Bluffton HighA · 72% proficient
- Ridgeland Secondary Academy Of ExcellenceD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29909 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29909 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 29909 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 29909 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 74% of zip codes, health care access beats 100%, and it is quieter than 72%.
Common questions about living in 29909
Is 29909 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29909 ranks 10,231st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, civic engagement, and an educated workforce, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 29909 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $524,120. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $94,488 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 29909 safe?
Yes, 29909 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 29909?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 44. That works out to about 117 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of zip codes.
Is 29909 good for families?
Schools beat 76% of zip codes, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $868 a month.
Compare 29909 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29909. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29909 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.
29909 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29909: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29909: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29909: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29909: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29909 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.