29206 — Forest Acres, South Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 29206. Its median home value runs 32% above Forest Acres as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 21% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 9% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured78
SchoolsTop 40% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured58
Growth2,569th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured32
Housing affordabilityTop 43% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured70
ClimateTop 31% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured75
Physical resilienceTop 40% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured66
AccessTop 16% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured98
Economic stabilityTop 34% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured64
The quick read

29206 ranks in the top 9% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.3% and median household income of $91,847. The unemployment rate is published for Forest Acres, SC, which contains 29206, rather than for 29206 alone.

In the public schools here, 53% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.7 students for every teacher.

4 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Forest Acres, SC, which contains 29206, rather than for 29206 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
19,759
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$91,847
Top 25% nationally
Density
2,288/sq mi
8.6 sq mi of land
Median age
37.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Forest Acres
South Carolina
Metro area
Nearest major airport
CAE
11 mi · Columbia Metro
Median home value
$369,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Forest Acres, SC, which contains 29206, is 4.3%, lower than in 54% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Forest Acres, SC, which contains 29206, grew 2.9% over the past year, to 209,553 employed residents.

62% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 94% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsRichland County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,51127th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftRichland County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$58,32928th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$12,2662024 ACS 5-Year$91,847Top 25%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6,2262024 ACS 5-Year$60,637Top 10%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%Top 22%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.1 minTop 17%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year61.6%Top 6%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.5%48th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentForest Acres, SC’s figureJuly 2026209,553Top 19%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Forest Acres, SC’s figureJuly 2026+4.8%Top 7%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Forest Acres, SC’s figureJuly 2026+2.9%Top 4%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceForest Acres, SC’s figureJuly 2026219,08181st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year82.0%Top 34%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageColumbia, SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$59,030Bottom 18%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageColumbia, SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$46,430Bottom 17%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%75th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Forest Acres, SC’s figureJuly 2026−0.7%Top 17%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateForest Acres, SC’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.2%73rd percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202492k79k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $91,847 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 — Columbia, SC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers11,640$27,170
Retail Salespersons10,860$29,540
Customer Service Representatives10,430$37,430
Stockers and Order Fillers9,470$37,180
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand9,410$37,530
Registered Nurses9,400$81,920

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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 Forest Acres, SC, the city containing this ZIP code.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.7 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
53.3%
Top 46% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
56.5%
Top 48% in South Carolina
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Dent MiddleRichland 021,05912.834%42%
Crayton MiddleRichland 0195214.051%58%
Satchel Ford ElementaryRichland 0172115.371%69%
Forest Lake ElementaryRichland 0265213.360%50%
Brockman ElementaryRichland 0129714.172%87%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against South Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Columbia, SC Metro Area is up 52% over five years, and up 3.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,253 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,276, below the $1,419 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,276 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $51,000 a year, about 56% of the median household income here of $91,847.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,419 a month.

A median home at $369,500 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $119,271, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
93.2

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Columbia, SC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
30.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,276
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,419
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$369,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 29206’s median household income of $91,847, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Columbia, SC Metro Area’s figure202393.2Top 29%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Columbia, SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.6%61st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Columbia, SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+51.6%80th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Columbia, SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+102.2%61st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 37%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year65.7%22nd percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6172024 ACS 5-Year9,43082nd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,164Top 42%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,623Top 32%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,276Top 34%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1452024 ACS 5-Year$1,419Bottom 24%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$27,8952024 ACS 5-Year$369,50077th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2102024 ACS 5-Year$2,25356th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,7082024 ACS 5-Year$119,271Top 17%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.61%23rd percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year30.5%Bottom 37%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±222024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%63rd percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3092024 ACS 5-Year87885th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

32/ 100
Ranks 2,569 of 3,124 published ZIP 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: of 4 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Forest Acres, SC, which contains 29206, rather than for 29206 alone.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Forest Acres, SC, which contains 29206, rather than for 29206 alone.

Units permitted
4
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 11% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
53%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$57,511
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$58,329
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lexington County, SC 4,779 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Kershaw County, SC 821 people · 3.4% of arrivals
  3. Mecklenburg County, NC 708 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  4. Sumter County, SC 558 people · 2.3% of arrivals
  5. York County, SC 449 people · 1.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lexington County, SC 5,649 people · 24% of departures
  2. Kershaw County, SC 1,412 people · 6.0% of departures
  3. Mecklenburg County, NC 700 people · 3.0% of departures
  4. Greenville County, SC 480 people · 2.0% of departures
  5. Charleston County, SC 443 people · 1.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Richland County, SC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Forest Acres, 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 93°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.7 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station COLUMBIA OWENS DWTN AP, 4.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year472024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals36°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
47
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

66 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Ice stormModerate
LightningModerate
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeElevated
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, tornado, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, winter weather, cold wave, wildfire, drought, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

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.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
12.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
19.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 29206 (Richland County) rather than 29206 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Forest Acres carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Columbia Metro at 11 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year96.0%Top 15%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle11 miTop 30%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 44%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%Top 17%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Columbia MetroCAE11 mi8,601 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS73 mi8,001 ft
Charlotte/Douglas IntlCLT82 mi10,000 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
66
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

29206 vs Forest Acres

How this ZIP area compares with Forest Acres as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

29206
Forest Acres
Median household income: 29206 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$91,847
vs
$78,306
Per capita income: 29206 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$60,637
vs
$53,339
Population density
2,288/sq mi
vs
2,274/sq mi
Median home value
$369,500
vs
$279,300
Median gross rent: Forest Acres is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,419
vs
$1,263
Homeownership rate
65.7%
vs
77.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Forest Acres is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
61.6%
vs
62.0%
Poverty rate: 29206 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
5.4%
vs
6.6%
Median age
37.6
vs
41.5

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.