HomeSouth CarolinaCharleston CountyCharleston city
Charleston city, South Carolina: commercial real estate data.
Charleston city is a Census city of 154,338 people across 115.25 square miles of land, lying across Charleston County and Berkeley County. Median household income is $92,414, 55.6 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 250 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $153.3 m.
79 sourced place values · tier FULL · 8 sections · underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency
Charleston
What Charleston is
- Census place typecity
- Land area115.25 sq mi
- Water area20.87 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land1,339
- County holding the largest share of its areaCharleston County, 68.8 percent
- Counties this place lies inCharleston County 68.8 percent, Berkeley County 31.2 percent
Charleston city crosses a county line. The split above is measured from the Census boundary of the place against the county boundaries, by area, so it says where the ground is and not where the town hall is.
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Charleston
How many people live in Charleston
- Population154,338
- Median age36.6
- Population under 1826,684
- Share under 1817.3 percent
- Population 65 and over25,374
- Share 65 and over16.4 percent
- Households68,027
- Family households35,318
- Share of households that are families51.9 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Charleston
Income and work in Charleston
- Median household income$92,414
- Per capita income$59,875
- Civilian labor force87,386
- Employed84,432
- Unemployed2,954
- Unemployment rate3.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over109,483
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher96.1 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher58.3 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree22.8 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Charleston
Housing in Charleston
- Housing units77,417
- Occupied units68,027
- Vacant units9,390
- Vacancy rate12.1 percent
- Owner occupied37,816
- Renter occupied30,211
- Ownership rate55.6 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$509,700
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,722
- Annual rent as a share of median income22.4 percent
- Single family units42,276
- Share single family54.6 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more34,459
- Share in buildings of two or more44.5 percent
- Mobile homes643 plus or minus 281
- Median year structure built1995
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Charleston
How Charleston gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute67,780
- Commuting under 15 minutes17,674
- Share commuting under 15 minutes26.1 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more21,368
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more31.5 percent
- Drove alone66.2 percent
- Carpooled7.2 percent
- Public transport0.7 percent plus or minus 0.4
- Walked3.5 percent
- Worked from home19.4 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Charleston
SBA loans in Charleston (7(a))
- Approvals250
- Gross approval$153,257,300
- Average approval$613,029
- Median approval$300,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,441,100
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported2,669
- Jobs per approval10.7
- Loans with a final outcome32
- Paid in full29
- Charged off3
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans9.4 percent
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more14.0 percent
- Share to franchises18.8 percent
- Distinct lenders62
- Distinct industries by NAICS115
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Charleston
SBA loans in Charleston (504)
- Approvals48
- Gross approval$34,160,000
- Average approval$711,667
- Median approval$591,000
- Largest approval$3,025,000
- Jobs supported705
- Loans with a final outcome17
- Charged off1
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans5.9 percent
- Median term300 months
- Distinct CDCs4
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Charleston County, not Charleston
Charleston County context, not Charleston figures
These are Charleston County figures. There is no place level equivalent published for any of them, so they are shown as the county backdrop and never as Charleston measurements.
- Establishments in Charleston County15,801
- Employment at those establishments, Charleston County226,330
- Covered employment, Charleston County278,476
- Average annual pay, Charleston County$68,271
- Average weekly wage, Charleston County$1,313
- Housing units permitted, Charleston County4,153
- Of those, single family, Charleston County3,052
- County product, 2024, Charleston County$50,461,876,000
- County product change over the prior year, Charleston County7.9 percent
- Average income of an arriving household, Charleston County$117,050
Every figure in this section is published for Charleston County as a whole and is not a measurement of Charleston. It is here because a county backdrop is what a credit committee reads a place against, and it is labelled so that it can never be quoted as the place's own.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual. US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024. US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Every item below could be filled with a plausible figure. None of them is. On a page a lender may read, a number that cannot be traced is worse than an absence, so the absences are named.
- This place is not listed as a community in the FEMA Community Status Book, so no NFIP participation or CRS class is shown.
- Parcel level detail, zoning and flood zone at an address are resolved in the platform, not on this page.
SBA figures count approvals to borrowers whose address is in the place. They are not approvals for projects inside the place boundary: the tape records a borrower city and a project county, and those can differ.
Common questions
Charleston questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Charleston, South Carolina?
154,338, in 68,027 households. Charleston city covers 115.25 square miles of land, which is 1,339 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Charleston in?
Charleston lies in more than one. By area it is 68.8 percent in Charleston County, 31.2 percent in Berkeley County. This page sits under Charleston County because that county holds the largest share. The split is measured from the Census boundary of the place against the county boundaries.
What is the median household income in Charleston?
$92,414. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $509,700. Median gross rent is $1,722 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Charleston businesses?
250 7(a) approvals totalling $153.3 m, across 62 lenders, median approval $300,000, plus 48 504 approvals worth $34.2 m. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Charleston, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Charleston borrowers get paid back?
Of the 32 loans that have reached a final outcome, 29 were paid in full and 3 charged off, a charge off rate of 9.4 percent. Loans still running are excluded because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
Are the county figures on this page Charleston figures?
No, and they are labelled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Charleston County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Charleston.
Is zoning published for Charleston?
Not yet. The zoning layer is in build. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.