Best PlacesCharleston County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Charleston County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Charleston County ranks 778th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $99,301, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are disaster risk, an overheated housing market, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Charleston County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Charleston County
The parts of Charleston County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Mount Pleasant
Crime runs lower, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Isle Of Palms
More adults hold degrees, though more homes sit empty.
Johns Island & Hollywood
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Charleston
Fewer residents vote and fewer households have young kids.
North Charleston
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Charleston County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Charleston County's strengths and weaknesses
Charleston County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. An educated workforce, transit, and population health carry most of that.
The one real hole is disaster risk, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and noise also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Charleston County ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of counties
- TransitBetter than 94% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of counties
- Household income$99,301 median, better than 92% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of counties
Where Charleston County ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cheap childcare$923 a month, better than only 25% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Charleston County
A household needs to earn about $144,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Charleston County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $99,301, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Charleston County's effective rate of 0.44%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Charleston County
Charleston County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Charleston County.
Who works in Charleston County, and how
Work in Charleston County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Charleston County
Charleston County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of counties and more parkland per resident than 75% of counties. The coast is about 18 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Charleston County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Charleston County growing, and who is moving in?
Charleston County has grown about 14% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Charleston, SC metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Charleston County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Charleston County, month by month
Charleston County sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs February through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 80° | 67° | 54° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Charleston County
Charleston AFB/International sits about 6 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.2 million passengers in 2025, with 95 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Charleston County
Schools across Charleston County average a B+, better than 88% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sullivan's Island ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Mt. Pleasant AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- East Cooper Montessori CharterA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buist AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
- Thomas C. Cario MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- Laing MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Academic Magnet HighA+ · 98% proficient
- Oceanside Collegiate AcademyA+ · 85% proficient
- Wando HighA+ · 81% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Charleston County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Charleston County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Charleston County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Charleston County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of counties and health care access beats 82%.
Common questions about living in Charleston County
Is Charleston County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Charleston County ranks 778th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on an educated workforce, transit, and population health, and lowest on disaster risk and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Charleston County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $579,204. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $99,301 median income, cost of living beats 92% of counties.
Is Charleston County safe?
Charleston County is safer than 31% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $576 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Charleston County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 38. That works out to about 97 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Charleston County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mount Pleasant, Isle Of Palms, and Johns Island & Hollywood. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Charleston County good for families?
Schools beat 88% of counties, crime safety beats 31%, and childcare runs $923 a month.
Is Charleston County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 82% of counties. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare Charleston County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Charleston County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Charleston County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Charleston County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Charleston County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Charleston County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Charleston County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Charleston County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Charleston County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.