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CITY

North Charleston

South Carolina · 129,245 residents (2025 est.) · 77.6 sq mi
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Part of the Charleston metro area
The short version

With 119,913 people, North Charleston is a city in South Carolina. Since 2000 the city has risen by half, up 40,272 people. Owners hold 50% of the housing stock. The median age is 34.6, younger than the US median of 38.9. 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. There are 1,545 people per square mile.

At a glance
Lower income
below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 34.6
US median: 38.9
Less educated
29% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 157%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Section 01

Population & growth

Total population
119,913
+51%since 2000
from 79,641 in 2000
129,245 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Population density
1,545 / sq mi
+30%since 2009
from 1,193 / sq mi in 2009
US average: 281
Median age
34.6
+16%since 2000
from 29.9 in 2000
US average: 38.9
Land area
77.6 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
65K80K95K110K125K19902000201020202024North Charleston
2024120K
1990201020202024
Age distribution, 2024
Under 56.5%(7,847)
US avg: 5.6%
5 to 95.6%(6,719)
US avg: 6%
10 to 146.6%(7,863)
US avg: 6.4%
15 to 196.1%(7,339)
US avg: 6.6%
20 to 247.4%(8,910)
US avg: 6.5%
25 to 3418.3%(22,004)
US avg: 13.7%
35 to 4414.6%(17,540)
US avg: 13.2%
45 to 5410.9%(13,108)
US avg: 12.2%
55 to 6411.4%(13,632)
US avg: 12.7%
65 to 747.9%(9,499)
US avg: 10.2%
75 to 843.3%(4,006)
US avg: 5.1%
85 and over1.2%(1,446)
US avg: 1.9%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02

Income & economy

Median household income
$62,956
+18%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $29,307 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Per capita income
$36,019
+151%since 2000
from $14,361 in 2000
US average: $44,673
Households earning $100K+
42.4%
+27.1 ptssince 2009
from 15.2% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Poverty rate
14.4%
−8.7 ptssince 2000
from 23.2% in 2000
US average: 12.5%
Income inequality (Gini)
0.444
+2%since 2010
from 0.434 in 2010
US average: 0.476
Workforce by industry, 2024
Information11.1%
US avg: 10.8%
Retail trade9.2%
US avg: 9.9%
Wholesale trade8.4%
US avg: 6.9%
Finance & insurance7.3%
US avg: 5.9%
Professional, scientific, technical6.6%
US avg: 5.1%
Other services5.3%
US avg: 6.7%
Public administration2.9%
US avg: 4.8%
Transportation & warehousing1.9%
US avg: 2.2%
Arts, entertainment, food1.6%
US avg: 1.9%
Education & health services0.6%
US avg: 0.9%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing0.2%
US avg: 1.6%
Construction0.2%
US avg: 1.2%
Manufacturing0%
US avg: 0.4%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03

Housing

Median home value
$302,200
+157%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $64,500 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
Median gross rent
$1,430
+52%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $517 in 2000
US average: $1,442
Owner-occupied
49.8%
+3.4 ptssince 2000
from 46.4% in 2000
50.2% rent
Vacancy rate
10.2%
−6.3 ptssince 2009
from 16.5% in 2009
US average: 10.0%
Persons per household
2.36 people
−4%since 2009
from 2.47 people in 2009
US average: 2.54
Owner cost-burdened
28.2%
−4.9 ptssince 2009
from 33.2% in 2009
US average: 22.9%
Renter cost-burdened
53.1%
+5.9 ptssince 2009
from 47.2% in 2009
US average: 47.4%
Afford Score
4.8
+38%since 2009
from 3.5 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
Gentrification Score
75
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04

Race & ethnicity

2000
White, non-Hispanic43.2%(34,443)
Black49.1%(39,096)
Hispanic / Latino4%(3,163)
Asian1.6%(1,245)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic38%(45,521)
Black41.3%(49,477)
Hispanic / Latino12.9%(15,471)
Asian3.1%(3,727)
Other4.8%(5,717)
Diversity Score
83
+10%since 2009
from 76 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
Section 04 · Origins

Detailed origins & ancestry

Hispanic origin
Mexican6.5%(7,830)
Central American2.5%(3,057)
South American1.4%(1,679)
Puerto Rican0.8%(974)
Honduran0.8%(961)
Salvadoran0.7%(838)
Ecuadorian0.5%(656)
Guatemalan0.5%(618)
Venezuelan0.5%(594)
Nicaraguan0.5%(576)
Spaniard0.4%(507)
Cuban0.3%(395)
+ 6 more hispanic origin groups with data
Colombian0.3%(338)
Dominican0.3%(336)
Panamanian0.1%(64)
Argentine0%(46)
Bolivian0%(24)
Peruvian0%(21)
Asian origin
Filipino0.9%(1,073)
Vietnamese0.7%(861)
Asian Indian0.6%(699)
Chinese0.3%(394)
Cambodian0.2%(203)
Korean0.1%(173)
Japanese0.1%(63)
Nepalese0%(49)
Burmese0%(48)
Uzbek0%(12)
+ 1 more asian origin group with data
Pacific Islander origin
Chamorro0.1%(82)
Samoan0%(7)
Ancestry
English7.5%(9,000)
Irish6.1%(7,374)
German6.1%(7,305)
American5.4%(6,461)
Italian2.8%(3,384)
Polish1.4%(1,722)
French1.3%(1,509)
Scottish1.2%(1,472)
Scotch-Irish1%(1,193)
Norwegian0.6%(677)
Arab0.5%(582)
+ 38 more ancestry groups with data
British0.4%(469)
Portuguese0.3%(404)
Brazilian0.3%(378)
Welsh0.3%(322)
Dutch0.3%(318)
Swedish0.3%(315)
Lebanese0.3%(304)
Kenyan0.3%(301)
West Indian0.2%(298)
Austrian0.2%(255)
Russian0.2%(234)
Czech0.2%(223)
Ukrainian0.2%(221)
Swiss0.2%(198)
Jamaican0.2%(191)
Finnish0.1%(160)
Hungarian0.1%(120)
Greek0.1%(119)
Danish0.1%(115)
Ghanaian0.1%(101)
Iranian0.1%(93)
Moroccan0.1%(76)
Slovak0.1%(73)
Haitian0.1%(64)
Turkish0.1%(63)
Nigerian0%(55)
Canadian0%(41)
Serbian0%(38)
Belgian0%(28)
Iraqi0%(27)
Romanian0%(22)
Slovene0%(15)
Section 05

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher
28.6%
+14.8 ptssince 2000
from 13.8% in 2000
US average: 35.6%
High school or higher
88.7%
+15.9 ptssince 2000
from 72.8% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Graduate degree
10.6%
+6.5 ptssince 2000
from 4.1% in 2000
US average: 14.0%
Section 06

Commute & transportation

Average commute
24.5 min
+75%since 2000
from 14.0 min in 2000
US average: 26.5
Drive alone to work
74.0%
−1.8 ptssince 2009
from 75.8% in 2009
US average: 68.9%
Carpooled to work
11.7%
−2.6 ptssince 2009
from 14.3% in 2009
US average: 8.5%
Public transit
1.7%
−1.0 ptssince 2009
from 2.6% in 2009
US average: 3.2%
Worked from home
9.7%
+8.0 ptssince 2009
from 1.7% in 2009
US average: 15.0%
Walked to work
1.2%
−1.8 ptssince 2009
from 3.0% in 2009
US average: 2.4%
Biked to work
0.6%
+0.2 ptssince 2009
from 0.4% in 2009
US average: 0.4%
No vehicle available
7.2%
−5.6 ptssince 2009
from 12.8% in 2009
US average: 8.3%
Section 07

Work & employment

Unemployment rate
4.3%
−7.6 ptssince 2011
from 12.0% in 2011
US average: 5.2%
Labor force participation
69.4%
+1.3 ptssince 2011
from 68.1% in 2011
US average: 63.5%
Women 20-64 in the labor force
77.2%
+1.0 ptssince 2020
from 76.2% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Self-employed
13.8%
+2.2 ptssince 2009
from 11.6% in 2009
US average: 13.1%
Management & professional
35.6%
+11.0 ptssince 2009
from 24.6% in 2009
US average: 42.5%
Section 08

People & community

Male
49.7%
+0.4 ptssince 2009
from 49.3% in 2009
Female
50.3%
−0.4 ptssince 2009
from 50.7% in 2009
Foreign born
11.0%
+3.1 ptssince 2009
from 7.9% in 2009
US average: 14.1%
Veterans
10.0%
−5.6 ptssince 2009
from 15.6% in 2009
US average: 6.2%
With a disability
12.9%
+2.0 ptssince 2012
from 10.9% in 2012
US average: 13.3%
Uninsured
15.4%
−7.7 ptssince 2013
from 23.1% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Broadband at home
89.2%
+24.2 ptssince 2017
from 65.0% in 2017
US average: 91.0%
Computer in household
96.2%
+4.1 ptssince 2020
from 92.1% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Same house as last year
82.3%
+0.1 ptssince 2020
from 82.2% in 2020
US average: 87.7%
English only at home
85.0%
−3.2 ptssince 2016
from 88.2% in 2016
US average: 77.7%
Spanish at home
9.9%
+1.3 ptssince 2016
from 8.6% in 2016
US average: 13.6%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married45.2%(21,570)
Married42.7%(20,386)
Widowed2.1%(988)
Divorced10%(4,762)
Women 15+
Never married38.6%(19,202)
Married39.8%(19,834)
Widowed7.4%(3,683)
Divorced14.2%(7,059)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09

Health coverage

Uninsured
15.4%
−7.7 ptssince 2013
from 23.1% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Employer-based
46.8%
+1.4 ptssince 2020
from 45.4% in 2020
US average: 54.8%
Direct-purchase
12.7%
+3.0 ptssince 2020
from 9.7% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
Medicare
14.6%
+1.1 ptssince 2020
from 13.5% in 2020
US average: 18.4%
Medicaid
21.6%
+0.7 ptssince 2020
from 20.9% in 2020
US average: 20.9%
VA health care
3.7%
+0.5 ptssince 2020
from 3.2% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
61.4%
+2.7 ptssince 2020
from 58.7% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
34.4%
+1.4 ptssince 2020
from 33.0% in 2020
US average: 36.7%

Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.

Section 09 · Service history

Veterans

Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)42%(3,784)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)29%(2,615)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era19.9%(1,793)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War2.3%(207)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0.5%(41)
US avg: 1%

Share of the 9,011 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.

BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
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NORTH CHARLESTON VS
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NORTH CHARLESTON VS
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Frequently asked

How many people live in North Charleston, South Carolina?

North Charleston, South Carolina has about 119,913 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.

What is the median household income in North Charleston, South Carolina?

The typical household in North Charleston, South Carolina earns about $62,956 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.

Is North Charleston, South Carolina expensive?

In North Charleston, South Carolina, the median home is worth about $302,200, and the typical rent is about $1,430 a month.

How educated are people in North Charleston, South Carolina?

About 28.6% of adults age 25 and over in North Charleston, South Carolina hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

What is the poverty rate in North Charleston, South Carolina?

About 14.4% of people in North Charleston, South Carolina live below the federal poverty line.

Has North Charleston, South Carolina grown since 1990?

Yes, North Charleston, South Carolina has grown since 1990. The population has added about 49,752 residents, a change of about 71 percent over that period.

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DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · UPDATED 2024

How we source and harmonize this data →