Best Places29926, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29926, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
29926 ranks 9,540th 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 29926
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.
29926's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29926 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 29926 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29926
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29926 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $103,652, 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 29926's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 29926
29926 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 29926.
Who works in 29926, and how
Work in 29926 centers on hospitality & food and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 29926
29926 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 29926 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29926, month by month
29926 sees roughly 134 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 29926
The nearest airport, Hilton Head, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29926
Schools across 29926 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hilton Head Island ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Hilton Head Island School For The Creative ArtsB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hilton Head Island MiddleC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Hilton Head Island HighA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29926 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29926 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 29926 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 29926 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 85% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 83% of zip codes and health care access beats 92%.
Common questions about living in 29926
Is 29926 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29926 ranks 9,540th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low property taxes, and short commutes, 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 29926 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $619,524. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $103,652 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 29926 safe?
Yes, 29926 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 29926?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 44. That works out to about 134 pleasant days a year, more than 83% of zip codes.
Is 29926 good for families?
Schools beat 68% of zip codes, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Compare 29926 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29926. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29926 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.
29926 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29926: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29926: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29926: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29926: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29926 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.