county

Charleston County, SC

Demographic and economic profile of Charleston County, SC, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Charleston County's 431,001-person workforce skews educated, with 49.0% holding a bachelor's degree or higher and an unemployment rate of 3.6%, while median worker earnings of $48,751 sit below the county's median household income of $88,494, suggesting a mix of high- and lower-wage employment. GDP per capita reaches $91,611 against a per capita income of $54,769, indicating substantial economic output relative to resident earnings. The county has grown 5.1% over five years, though a median home value of $450,800 and median gross rent of $1,506/month reflect rising occupancy costs relative to worker pay.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

431,001

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$88,494

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

39.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+5.1% since 2018

Charleston County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone276,973 (65.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone96,255 (22.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race12,879 (3.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races12,332 (2.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone11,957 (2.8%)
  • Asian Alone7,521 (1.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish20,552
  2. 2.Other Indo-European4,188
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)1,791
  4. 4.German or other West Germanic1,365
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)1,275

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

6.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

27,518

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$91,611

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$54,769

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance49,034
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services37,426
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services23,902
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)21,308
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing17,575

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations107,628
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations42,033
  3. 3.Service Occupations32,980
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations20,626
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations14,820

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 1.34×)35,516
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.31×)24,575
  3. 3.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.13×)16,121
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.05×)5,166
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.01×)15,024

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$450,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,506/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

63.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $500,000 to $749,99922,919 (20.0%)
  • $300,000 to $399,99916,437 (14.4%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99915,093 (13.2%)
  • $750,000 to $999,99913,620 (11.9%)
  • $1,000,000 to $1,499,9999,806 (8.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9996,666 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

49.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

66.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$48,751

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone150,237 (69.0%)
  • Worked At Home38,536 (17.7%)
  • Carpooled18,511 (8.5%)
  • Walked4,134 (1.9%)
  • Other1,901 (0.9%)
  • Public Transit1,869 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.