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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 29223

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At a glance

Schools

6,336

Students

Districts

Top rankedL. B. Nelson Elementary311^th of 649 South Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

E. L. Wright Middle up 41 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Joseph Keels Elementary 10.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

0★

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Summary:

Zip code 29223 in Columbia, SC contains 9 schools serving grades K-12, including 7 elementary schools (one of which is a K-8 school) and 2 high schools, with no standalone middle schools in the area. All schools belong to the Richland 02 school district except School Whitmore School, which operates under the School Public Charter School District.

The clear academic standout is E. L. Wright Middle, a K-8 school ranked 364th of 649 schools statewide (44th percentile). It achieves remarkable elementary results with 88-98% ELA proficiency in grades 3-5 and a 97.62% Algebra 1 pass rate, while also having the lowest chronic absenteeism (17.3%) in the zip code. However, its middle school performance drops dramatically to 42-53% ELA proficiency. L. B. Nelson Elementary is the only school showing consistent improvement, rising from 339th to 311th in rankings and now sitting in the top half of elementary schools statewide. At the other end, Windsor Elementary is the most challenged, ranked 599th of 649 (8th percentile) with math proficiency as low as 20.2% in 4th grade. The two high schools, Richland Northeast High and School Whitmore School, both rank in the bottom 20% statewide, with graduation rates of 78.1% and 70.0% respectively—well below the state average of 86.7%.

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic issue, with 6 of 9 schools exceeding the state average of 22.3%; Joseph Keels Elementary has the highest rate at 35.0%. There is no correlation between spending and performance—L. W. Conder Elementary spends the most ($18,312 per student) yet ranks in the bottom 12%, while E. L. Wright spends the least among district schools ($13,243) and achieves the best results. School Whitmore operates at just $8,616 per student with a 28.7:1 student-teacher ratio yet outperforms Richland Northeast in several metrics. Elementary math is a consistent weakness across all schools, with proficiency running 10-20 points below ELA scores. Families should note the significant achievement cliff between elementary and middle grades, and that most schools in this area are trending downward in rankings.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)						SC READY Mathematics (2026)						SC READY Science (2026)		EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2026)	EOCEP English 1 (2026)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2026)	EOCEP English 2 (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP English 1 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
L. W. Conder Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	8040 Hunt Club Road	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	Yes	(803) 736-8720	489	44	11.1		18 (3.7%)	259 (53.0%)	186 (38.0%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.7%)	15.6	574^th of 649 public elementary schools	11.6%		15.7	561^st of 640 public elementary schools	12.3%	13	38.7	49.2	49.3				30.7	37.0	27.9				27.7						$18,312	$1,946	$926	$2,872	$12,763	$2,677	$15,440
Joseph Keels Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	7500 Springcrest Drive	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	Yes	(803) 736-8754	465	43	10.9		7 (1.5%)	384 (82.6%)	44 (9.5%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.1%)	35.7	421^st of 649 public elementary schools	35.1%		30.1	451^st of 640 public elementary schools	29.5%	30	46.7	56.1	54.3				51.7	42.4	42.9				47.9						$17,949	$1,969	$1,001	$2,969	$12,353	$2,628	$14,980
L. B. Nelson Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	225 North Brickyard Road	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 736-8730	541	44	12.2		56 (10.4%)	380 (70.2%)	55 (10.2%)	11 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (7.0%)	50.4	311^th of 649 public elementary schools	52.1%		47.9	321^st of 640 public elementary schools	49.8%	10	53.1	62.5	60.3				56.3	55.7	38.4				60.2						$15,825	$1,669	$976	$2,645	$10,966	$2,213	$13,179
Windsor Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	9800 Dunbarton Drive	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	Yes	(803) 736-8723	579	52	11.2		27 (4.7%)	358 (61.8%)	168 (29.0%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	20 (3.5%)	11.9	599^th of 649 public elementary schools	7.7%		11.2	593^rd of 640 public elementary schools	7.3%	6	37.1	45.7	43.5				34.2	20.2	22.0				35.1						$16,902	$1,736	$1,079	$2,815	$11,627	$2,460	$14,086
E. L. Wright Middle	Public, Magnet	K-8	2740 Alpine Road	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 736-8740	1,275	87	14.5		201 (15.8%)	735 (57.6%)	202 (15.8%)	71 (5.6%)	4 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	61 (4.8%)	43.5	364^th of 649 public elementary schools	43.9%		36.2	405^th of 640 public elementary schools	36.7%	41	88.7	97.8	97.4	41.9	52.8	52.9	72.8	72.7	84.6	26.7	29.4	33.2	81.8	40.8					$13,243	$801	$448	$1,249	$9,658	$2,336	$11,994
Polo Road Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1250 Polo Road	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 419-2226	665	50	13.2		39 (5.9%)	345 (51.9%)	217 (32.6%)	15 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	48 (7.2%)	18.8	538^th of 649 public elementary schools	17.1%		21.1	524^th of 640 public elementary schools	18.1%	14	44.6	50.6	49.5				43.7	24.7	29.3				35.3						$15,464	$1,280	$1,131	$2,411	$11,315	$1,738	$13,053
Richland Northeast High	Public, Magnet	9-12	7500 Brookfield Road	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 699-2800	1,340	101	13.3		112 (8.4%)	857 (64.0%)	296 (22.1%)	19 (1.4%)	2 (0.1%)	4 (0.3%)	50 (3.7%)	23.9	198^th of 245 public high schools	19.2%		15.8	205^th of 235 public high schools	12.8%	7															65.3	39.9	39.1	73.2	$16,712	$1,045	$593	$1,638	$11,424	$3,651	$15,075
Jackson Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7150 Trenholm Road Extension	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 790-3800	551	50	10.9		4 (0.7%)	426 (77.3%)	79 (14.3%)	4 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (6.5%)	13.3	592^nd of 649 public elementary schools	8.8%		11.3	589^th of 640 public elementary schools	8.0%	3	48.6	35.7	38.0				46.6	24.3	22.5				28.6						$15,730	$1,991	$706	$2,697	$10,820	$2,213	$13,033
School Whitmore School	Public, Virtual, Charter	9-12	501 Commerce Drive NE	Columbia	29223	Richland County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	Yes	No	(803) 476-6416	431	15	28.7		309 (71.7%)	81 (18.8%)	26 (6.0%)	8 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	23.5	199^th of 245 public high schools	18.8%		23.4	183^rd of 235 public high schools	22.1%	16																38.6	44.9	78.5	$8,616	$246	$450	$695	$6,020	$1,900	$7,920

Cities Near Zip Code 29223

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Columbia	0.13 mi	83	151^st
Elgin	5.11 mi	6	92^nd
Blythewood	6.41 mi	10	67^th
Hopkins	10.23 mi	5	173^rd
Cayce	10.64 mi	4	172^nd

See the top SC South Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.