Best Places29940, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 29940, 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.
29940 ranks 30,519th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 29940
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.
29940's strengths and weaknesses
Where 29940 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 74% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 72% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 70% of zip codes
Where 29940 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 29940
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 29940 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,555, 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 29940's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 29940
29940 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 29940.
Who works in 29940, and how
Work in 29940 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 29940
The coast is about 24 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 29940, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 29940, month by month
29940 sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| April | 81° | 68° | 55° |
| July | 94° | 83° | 75° |
| October | 83° | 70° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 29940
The nearest airport, Hilton Head, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around 29940
Schools across 29940 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Whale Branch ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
- Ridgeland ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whale Branch MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Whale Branch Early College HighB · 50% proficient
- Ridgeland Secondary Academy Of ExcellenceD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 29940 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
29940 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 29940 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 29940
Is 29940 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 29940 ranks 30,519th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, low property taxes, and quiet, 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 29940 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $367,575. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $57,555 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 29940 safe?
29940 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
Compare 29940 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 29940. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 29940 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.
29940 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 29940: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 29940: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 29940: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 29940: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
29940 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.