AreaProfile

29801Aiken, South Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 29801.

67
Area Score
Top 33% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 40% of 4,073 published ZIP areas59
Growth2261st of 3,947 published ZIP areas46
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 4,553 published ZIP areas92
ClimateTop 47% of 4,621 published ZIP areas71
Physical resilienceTop 37% of 4,554 published ZIP areas69
Access3181st of 4,623 published ZIP areas89
Economic stability4399th of 4,591 published ZIP areas24
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 139 units authorized over the past twelve months, 70% below the prior year.

Its Area Score of 67 places 29801 in the top 33% of published ZIP profiles.

At a glance

Population
31,108
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$59,573
Bottom 29% nationally
Density
350/sq mi
88.9 sq mi of land
Median age
40.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Aiken
South Carolina
Metro area
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
Nearest major airport
AGS
22 mi · Augusta Rgnl At Bush Fld
Median home value
$174,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% is lower than 37% of the 4,387 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 2.6% over the past year, to 13,660 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,250$59,573Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,412$34,262Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate21.8%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute27.3 minBottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher29.7%Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment13,660Bottom 5%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.1%Top 13%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.6%Top 2%June 2026
Labor force14,347Bottom 5%June 2026
Labor force participation53.6%Bottom 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$60,020Bottom 18%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$45,990Bottom 12%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.1%Bottom 43%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.8%Top 37%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202460k46k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $59,573 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,710$26,620
Retail Salespersons6,930$29,350
Registered Nurses6,880$87,760
Cashiers6,040$28,310
General and Operations Managers4,230$102,360
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,920$28,730

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Aiken, SC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,059 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.9 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
21.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.9×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,059
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$174,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.92Bottom 44%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate66.8%Bottom 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±75014,143Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$102$1,059Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,935$174,100Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.3%Top 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate16.6%Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
46/ 100
Ranks 2261 of 3,947 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
139
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.3
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
−70%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Aiken, SC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 40°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.8 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station AUGUSTA DANIEL FLD AP, 21.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation44.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low40°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing35°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

69 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, tornado and earthquake.

Ice stormModerate
LightningModerate
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeElevated
TornadoModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, inland flooding, wildfire, hail, strong wind, cold wave, drought, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 22 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS22 mi8,001 ft
Columbia MetroCAE41 mi8,601 ft
Donaldson FldGYH90 mi8,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
67
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

29801 vs Aiken

How this ZIP area compares with Aiken as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

29801
Aiken
Median household income
$59,573
vs
$76,746
Per capita income
$34,262
vs
$45,554
Population density
350/sq mi
vs
1,495/sq mi
Median home value
$174,100
vs
$286,800
Median gross rent
$1,059
vs
$1,180
Homeownership rate
66.8%
vs
68.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
29.7%
vs
47.7%
Poverty rate
21.8%
vs
17.0%
Median age
40.9
vs
46.6

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.