Charleston County, South Carolina

Charleston County has a population of 420,264 and has grown 6.8% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $489,100, about 5.5 times the county's median household income of $88,494.

Home price
$489,100
Income
$88,494
Population
420,264
Unemployment
3.5%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$489,100county
Median gross rent$1,620county
Median year homes here were built1991county
Share of homes built before 198034.5%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile4.9%county
Share of homes that are vacant14.7%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented36.1%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use5.2%county
Typical monthly rent$2,156county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,787county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,630county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$2,222county
Home insurance / yr$2,974(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living94.7(statewide)
Median household income$88,494county
Family health premium / yr$24,280(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$11,512(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$3.542(statewide)
Poverty rate11.3%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home17.7%county
Unemployment rate3.5%county
Share of adults in the labor force66.0%county
Share of workers who are self-employed7.6%county
Share of workers employed by government16.1%county
Share of workers in the largest industry22.5%county
Economic output per resident$120,072county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate0.39%county
Top state income tax5.21%(statewide)
Capital gains tax2.92%(statewide)
Combined sales tax7.49%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time25.1 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service6.2 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport3115194county
Miles to nearest general aviation field8.7 micounty
Airports with airline service located here1county
General aviation airfields located here2county
Passenger train stations and the railway network1county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station3.6 micounty
Households without a vehicle5.9%county
Traffic deaths30.2county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,0001.2(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher50.3%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher93.5%county
Public schools in the county90county
Public school enrollment54127county
Students per full-time teacher13.9county
Elementary schools57county
Middle schools11county
High schools14county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above6county
Share of local colleges that are public44.4%county
Two-year institutions3county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution2.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians124county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county8county
Hospitals here with an emergency department7county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here4county
Fine particulate matter7.1 µgcounty
Without health insurance8.3%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year12.5%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year7.1%county
Frequent mental distress13.3%county
No leisure-time physical activity17.8%county
Diagnosed diabetes10.6%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population420,264county
Land area in square miles918county
People per square mile of land458.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores103county
Convenience stores46county
Share living far from a food store30.1%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract12.2%county
Population change since 2020+6.8%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents3county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents4county
Median age39.2 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1819.5%county
Share of residents 65 and over17.9%county
Share of households that are one person32.9%county
Share of residents born outside the United States6.7%county
Second languages9.0%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls50.6%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents125county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents0county
Households that moved in17,633county
Households that moved away15,774county
Average income of arriving households$104,019county
Average income of departing households$76,444county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes16county
Housing units authorised in the latest year3,392county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings29.2%county
Violent crime rate437(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature66.5°Fcounty
Annual precipitation41.7 incounty
Annual snowfall2.5 incounty
Average daily solar energy4.66 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F50 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing19 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 8bcounty
Frost-free days277 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMar 1county
Average first fall frostDec 3county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$160county
Electric utilities serving this county2county
Electricity price per kWh14.8¢county
Household electricity use1,086 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$21.44(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity75.9%county
Homes heated by utility gas20.2%county
Homes heated by propane2.5%county
Homes heated by fuel oil0.1%county
Homes heated by wood0.1%county
Households with broadband88.9%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk89.9county
Coastal flood risk99.8county
Drought risk35.4county
Landslide risk37.7county
Hail risk60.9county
Earthquake risk98.8county
Tornado risk71.0county
Tropical cyclone risk99.6county
Extreme heat risk82.7county
Winter weather risk84.2county
Strong wind risk82.5county
Wildfire risk93.9county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams2county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams1county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here1county

Figures marked county are measured for Charleston County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the South Carolina figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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