AreaProfile

29803Aiken, South Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 29803.

72
Area Score
Top 16% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 19% of 4,073 published ZIP areas70
Growth2261st of 3,947 published ZIP areas46
Housing affordabilityTop 16% of 4,553 published ZIP areas95
ClimateTop 34% of 4,621 published ZIP areas74
Physical resilienceTop 37% of 4,554 published ZIP areas69
Access2413th of 4,623 published ZIP areas94
Economic stability3276th of 4,591 published ZIP areas48
The quick read

29803 ranks in the top 19% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.8% and median household income of $86,023.

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

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 16% of median household income.

At a glance

Population
40,699
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$86,023
Top 31% nationally
Density
319/sq mi
127.5 sq mi of land
Median age
48.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Aiken
South Carolina
Metro area
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
Nearest major airport
AGS
16 mi · Augusta Rgnl At Bush Fld
Median home value
$298,800
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.

47% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,420$86,023Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,461$50,681Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.6%Bottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.2 minTop 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher47.1%Top 15%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 participation54.6%Bottom 30%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
202120222023202486k72k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $86,023 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 $1,150 takes 16% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
16.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,150
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$298,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.47Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate82.3%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±82418,556Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$51$1,150Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,057$298,800Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income16.0%Bottom 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.1%Bottom 38%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

7 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 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.1 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station AUGUSTA BUSH FLD AP, 16.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation44.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 16 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS16 mi8,001 ft
Columbia MetroCAE47 mi8,601 ft
Savannah/Hilton Head IntlSAV96 mi9,351 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
72
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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.

29803 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.

29803
Aiken
Median household income
$86,023
vs
$76,746
Per capita income
$50,681
vs
$45,554
Population density
319/sq mi
vs
1,495/sq mi
Median home value
$298,800
vs
$286,800
Median gross rent
$1,150
vs
$1,180
Homeownership rate
82.3%
vs
68.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
47.1%
vs
47.7%
Poverty rate
9.6%
vs
17.0%
Median age
48.4
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.