What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Wales Garden?
Wales Garden is ranked #36 of 77 eligible neighborhoods in Columbia; #67 of 160 eligible neighborhoods in SC; and #5,933 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Wales Garden
Columbia, SC | Richland County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
54.5
Stability and Strength
44.4
Value Opportunity
37.8
Momentum
94.2
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Columbia, SC |
| County | Richland County |
| National rank | #5,933 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #67 of 160 |
| City rank | #36 of 77 |
| County rank | #37 of 77 |
| National percentile | 60.4 |
| National band | MIDDLE_50_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $685,151 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 10.9% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.51% |
| Home value to income ratio | 9.61 |
| Median household income | $71,281 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 89.3% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 7.9% |
| Homeownership rate | 48.0% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 9.8% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 90.9% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Wales Garden
Is Wales Garden one of the best neighborhoods in Columbia?
Wales Garden has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 54.5 and a city ranking of #36 of 77 eligible neighborhoods in Columbia.
How much are homes worth in Wales Garden?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Wales Garden is approximately $685,151.
Are home values rising or falling in Wales Garden?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 10.9% year over year and 0.51% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Wales Garden?
Wales Garden has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 94.2. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Wales Garden?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $71,281.
How affordable is Wales Garden relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 9.61. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Wales Garden primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 48.0%.
What is the unemployment rate in Wales Garden?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 7.9%.
How educated are residents of Wales Garden?
Approximately 89.3% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Wales Garden face high rent burden?
Approximately 90.9% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Wales Garden?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications20
Estimated originations15
Home-purchase applications13
Origination rate74.2%
Home-purchase share62.1%
Average application loan$344,708
Total application loan amount$7,026,990
National application rank#10,576 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications 4.8% YoY; originations 13.9% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.