County profile
Charleston County, SC
United States · GDP 2024
#115 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 93% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$50.5B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+7.9%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
226,330
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
15,801
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$64.8k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
436,200
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.5%
Median HH income
$88.5k±$1.9k
Bachelor's degree+
50.3%±1.1%
Poverty rate
11.3%±0.8%
Business applications
12,378 · 2025
Retail establishments
2,084
48.1/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1Ingevity CorporationBasic Materials$1.2B52D2Blackbaud, Inc.Technology$1.1B80B+3Royal Energy Resources, Inc.Energy$247.9M——4First Capital Bancshares, Inc.Financial Services$68.2M49D5Bank of South Carolina CorporationFinancial Services———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Food & accommodation24%
Health care23%
Retail trade19%
Professional services14%
Admin & support11%
Manufacturing10%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
436,200
residents · 2025 · +6.4% since 2020
Income per capita $90.5k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+9,392
International migration+10,961
Natural change+5,794
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$34.4B2019
$33.7B2020
$36.8B2021
$41.8B2022
$46.8B2023
$50.5B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$489.1k±$9.3k
Median gross rent
$1.6k/mo±$36/mo
Vacancy rate
14.7%±0.7%
Affordability
7.6× wages
Residential permits
$1.0B
3,392 units · 7.8/1k pop
FEMA risk score
98.6
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.8k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Coastal flooding 100Hurricane 100Earthquake 99
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
9022016
9832017
10382018
10792019
11112020
12522021
15132022
17092023
18562024
18982025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -12% since 20213,8632021
4,5532022
4,5582023
4,1532024
3,3922025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
0.4 km
I-26
Nearest freight rail
0.0 km
CSXT
Nearest port
0.8 km
MARINEX CONSTRUCTION SHIPYARD CREEK CHARLESTON SC
Nearest commercial airport
10.9 km
CHARLESTON AFB/INTL
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR2 filings from 2 companies here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$64.8k
avg. annual pay · +25% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPThe read
What is the GDP of Charleston?
Charleston's economy produced $50.5B in 2024, growing 7.9% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is food & accommodation.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.