Latest Census city estimates released May 14, 2026 · Population as of July 1, 2025 · Next city estimates scheduled for May 2027. Release schedule
North Charleston, South Carolina population is 129,245 as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimate), ranking #227 nationally and #3 in South Carolina. Cost of living runs 1.0% above the U.S. average (BEA RPP 2024); the four-person spending scenario corresponds to modeled gross income of $124,286/yr (TY2026 tax assumptions; partial scenario excluding unverified local income tax). This profile draws on 13 federal datasets covering population, housing, income, employment, climate, and risk.
129,245 people live in North Charleston as of July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025), the #227 largest U.S. city.
How big is North Charleston?
North Charleston covers 78.0 square miles of land and 3.6 square miles of water. Its population density is about 1,657 residents per square mile of land. Compare U.S. cities by land area →
Source detail: 2025 population
2025 population
Source agency
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Dataset
Census PEP
Vintage / period
Vintage 2025 (Jul 1, 2025)
Native geography
Census PEP subcounty place records for the included city universe.
Transformation
Copied from POPESTIMATE2025, joined by Census GEOID, and used for ranks, filters, and city pages.
Known limit: Annual estimate, not a decennial count; each new PEP vintage can revise the prior series.
Population grew 12.5% from the April 2020 base to mid-2025.
Vintage 2025 · annual estimates
Recent history (V2025 series, 2020 base → 2025).
2020 base: 114,887 → 2025: 129,245 (+12.5%)
Year
Population
Reference date
2020 base
114,887
April 1, 2020
2020
115,610
July 1, 2020
2021
117,663
July 1, 2021
2022
118,860
July 1, 2022
2023
121,910
July 1, 2023
2024
126,551
July 1, 2024
2025
129,245
July 1, 2025
Earlier history (2010–2019, prior Census vintage)
These figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2019 release — a separate, earlier methodology. They’re shown here as historical context only; the 2010 and 2019 values aren’t directly comparable to the 2020–2025 series above.
Population grew 17.8% from the July 2010 estimate to 2019 (V2019 — see seam note below).
North Charleston is the #227 largest of 19,483 U.S. cities and #3 in South Carolina.
▸Show the analyst detail (9 rows)
Measure
Value
Note
2020 base
114,887
April 1, 2020 census base
5-yr change
+14,358
2020 base → 2025; within V2025
5-yr change %
+12.5%
within V2025 only
1-yr change
+2,694
2024 → 2025 estimate
1-yr change %
+2.1%
within V2025 only
Density
1,657
people per sq mi, land only
Land area
78
sq mi (2025 Gazetteer)
U.S. rank by population
#227
of 19,483 cities
State rank by population
#3
of 271 in South Carolina
What is the median household income in North Charleston?
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: household income $80,734 ± $166; per-capita income $44,673 ± $122. Margins are at 90% confidence. Comparison badges describe point estimates; they are not significance tests.
Median household income is 22% below the U.S. median ($62,956 vs $80,734); 14.4% live in poverty, 2.0 points above the 12.5% U.S. estimate.
Median household income$62,956
US
North Charleston: $62,956 — 22% below the US median of $80,734.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS income data; censored rows retained in the distribution
North Charleston
$62,956
United States
$80,734
Income and poverty estimates for North Charleston from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (window 2020–2024). Every figure is shown with its 90% margin of error (MOE). Cells where the ± margin exceeds half the estimate are flagged "low precision." See methodology §12.
Measure
Estimate
± margin / note
Median household income
$62,956-22.0% vs US
±$3,840
Per capita income
$36,019-19.4% vs US
±$1,585
Population in poverty
14.4% ± 1.8 percentage points
share of population for whom poverty status is determined
Median home value is 9% below the U.S. median ($302,200 vs $332,700); median rent is 1% above ($1,430 vs $1,413); the ratio of median home value to median household income is 4.8× versus 4.1× nationally; this compares two distributions and does not measure an individual household's housing burden.
Median home value$302,200
US
North Charleston: $302,200 — 9% below the US median of $332,700.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with ACS home-value data; censored rows retained in the distribution
HUD 2-BR fair-market rent$1,787/mo
US
North Charleston: $1,787/mo — 66% above the US median of $1,077/mo.
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of cities with a HUD Fair Market Rent
Same-period U.S. benchmarks: home value $332,700 ± $236; gross rent $1,413 ± $2. Comparison badges describe estimates and do not establish statistical significance.
Poverty (Census SAIPE 2024, model-based), unemployment (BLS LAUS 2025 annual averages), and remote-work share (ACS 2020–2024) for North Charleston. Numbers are labeled at their native grain — place-grain when BLS publishes it, otherwise per-county. We do not compute population-weighted county averages. See methodology §13.
Measure
Value
Grain
Unemployment rate (annual avg)
3.8%
North Charleston (BLS sub-state LAUS)
Civilian labor force
67,453
2025 annual avg
Worked from home
9.7% ± 1.2 percentage points-35.9% vs US
share of workers 16+ working from home · U.S. share: 15.1% · ACS
County context — North Charleston spans 3 counties; all are listed (no weighted average):
County
Poverty rate
Median HH income
Unemployment
Charleston County
10.3%
$92,635
3.6%
Dorchester County
9.1%
$84,239
3.9%
Berkeley County
8.9%
$86,187
4.0%
Top industries by private employment — NAICS supersectors rolled up from North Charleston's linked 3 counties in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW, 2025 annual averages). See methodology §11.
#
Industry (NAICS supersector)
Private employment
Avg weekly wage
#1
Accommodation and food services (72)
47,608
$617 / wk
#2
Retail trade (44-45)
44,575
$818 / wk
#3
Health care and social assistance (62)
41,760
$1,320 / wk
#4
Manufacturing (31-33)
33,264
$1,824 / wk
#5
Professional and technical services (54)
29,787
$2,094 / wk
What workers earn in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro — top occupations by employment plus six curated benchmarks (registered nurse, software developer, elementary teacher, general manager, retail salesperson, truck driver). Wages are metro-area medians from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). See methodology §25.
Retail Salespersons is the largest tracked occupation in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro (11,930 jobs, median $34,090/yr).
▸Show all 13 occupations
Occupation
Employment
Median annual
Median hourly
Fast Food and Counter Workers
10,850
$28,500
$13.70
Waiters and Waitresses
9,580
$19,340
$9.30
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
8,100
$38,090
$18.31
Cashiers
7,960
$30,130
$14.49
Customer Service Representatives
7,940
$44,000
$21.15
Office Clerks, General
6,890
$39,250
$18.87
Cooks, Restaurant
6,040
$36,710
$17.65
Retail Salespersons · benchmark
11,930
$34,090
$16.39
Registered Nurses · benchmark
9,760
$92,800
$44.62
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers · benchmark
6,020
$55,150
$26.52
General and Operations Managers · benchmark
6,000
$109,260
$52.53
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · benchmark
All items run within 1 point of the U.S. average (RPP 101.0); rents stand out at RPP 119.8 (19.8% above the U.S. average).
Cost of living (RPP, all items)RPP 101.0
US
North Charleston's cost of living runs 1.0% above the U.S. average (RPP 101.0 vs 100).
Scale: 10th–90th percentile of metro/non-metro areas with a BEA price parity
BEA Regional Price Parity (all items)
RPP 101.0
+1.0% vs U.S. average · BEA 2024 · Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro
HUD Fair Market Rent, 2-BR
$1,787/mo
FY2026 · Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
State income tax (top marginal rate)
6.00%
3 brackets · TY2026
Four-person monthly spending scenario
$10,357/mo
3BR rent + food + childcare + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
One-person monthly spending scenario
$4,397/mo
1BR rent + food + taxes + transport · federal sources; excludes unverified local income tax
Local income tax
—
Unverified and excluded from the spending scenario; not a verified zero
Household budget figures are arithmetic floors using current federal sources at the grains documented in methodology. Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite score.
11.0% ± 1.2 percentage points foreign-born (U.S. share 14.1%); Spanish is the most-spoken language at home other than English (9.9% of residents 5+).
A quick read on North Charleston's residents — nativity and languages spoken at home shown above, from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. The full demographic breakdown (age, race and ethnicity, household types, and educational attainment, each with its margin of error) lives on the demographics page.
These are K-12 public school districts. Higher education (colleges and universities) is not represented in this dataset.
Public school districts serving North Charleston, from the NCES EDGE Geographic Relationship Files (GRF25, 2024–25 school year boundaries). The join is many-to-many — large cities often span multiple districts, and one district often serves multiple cities. Sorted primary district first. See methodology §12 for the consolidated-city fallback and Milford CT special case.
Source: NCES EDGE GRF25 · school year 2024–25 · methodology →
What is the climate like in North Charleston?
Hottest month: July (92°F avg high). Coldest: January (38°F avg low). Annual precipitation: 49.9 in.
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) for North Charleston from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See methodology §15 for the gridded vs. station source path.
Average monthly highs & lows · 30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020). Every number on this chart is an average.
bar = avg daily high → avg daily lowprecip in inches below each barprecip in millimeters below each bar
How safe is North Charleston from natural disasters?
Composite risk spans 93.7–98.6/100 across 3 counties; most-cited top hazard is Coastal Flooding (in 1 of 3).
Natural-hazard exposure for North Charleston from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index (FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0). NRI is an expected-annual-loss composite calibrated on 1996–2019 historical losses, published at the U.S. county grain. See methodology §17.
North Charleston spans 3 counties. We list each separately because hurricane, flood, and fire risk varies meaningfully across county lines — manufacturing a single “city-level” risk score would hide that signal.
County
NRI composite
Rating
Top hazards
Charleston County
98.6
Relatively High
Coastal Flooding 99.8 Very High · Hurricane 99.6 Very High · Earthquake 98.8 Relatively High
Dorchester County
93.7
Relatively Moderate
Earthquake 97.9 Relatively Moderate · Hurricane 97.9 Relatively High · Ice Storm 83.4 Relatively High
Berkeley County
94.8
Relatively High
Hurricane 98.3 Very High · Earthquake 97.7 Relatively Moderate · Wildfire 89.8 Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index · FEMA NRI December 2025 v1.20.0 · methodology →
How fast is home internet in North Charleston?
8 non-satellite ISPs serve the area; 65% of locations have gigabit-capable service per ISP filings.
Fixed broadband availability for North Charleston from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Collection (BDC), as of December 31, 2025. Every speed and provider count below is an ISP-reported advertised maximum — not measured throughput. Actual delivered speeds typically run 60–80% of advertised. See methodology §16.
Measure
Value
Note
Providers serving this city
8 + satellite
distinct ISPs, excluding satellite-only
Fiber providers
7
offer fiber-to-the-premises somewhere in the BDC
Units with ≥100/20 Mbps fixed
100.0%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Locations with ≥100 Mbps upload
64.7%
derived: max(fiber ≥100/20, gigabit). Fiber is symmetric; gigabit is ≥100 up by definition
Units with ≥1 Gbps fixed
64.7%
share of broadband-serviceable units, ISP-reported max
Total broadband-serviceable units
61,469
residential locations in the FCC Fabric (not households)
Source: FCC BDC · as of December 31, 2025 · methodology →
In-state context.
North Charleston sits at state rank #3 among 271 cities in South Carolina. Nearby in the state ranking:
Just above in the profiled set: Clovis, CA · #226 · 129,347 residents.
Just below in the profiled set: College Station, TX · #228 · 127,472 residents.
Quick travel facts for North Charleston
Quick travel facts.
Elevation
36 ft · at city centroid, from USGS 3D Elevation Program
Nearest scheduled-service airport
Charleston International Airport(CHS) · 2 mi 4 km from city centroid
Best months to visit
Apr, Nov · months when the avg high sits in 65–80°F and precipitation is at or below the city's median monthly precip
Sources: elevation from USGS 3DEP · nearest airport from OurAirports CSV (OurAirports type=large/medium and scheduled_service=yes; not an FAA service classification) · best months derived from NOAA 1991-2020 normals · methodology →
Frequently asked questions about North Charleston.
How many people live in North Charleston, SC?
North Charleston has 129,245 residents as of July 1, 2025, making it the #227 largest city in the United States and #3 in South Carolina. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025.
Is North Charleston growing or shrinking?
North Charleston has grown 12.5% since the April 2020 census baseline, adding 14,358 residents, including a 2.1% increase from 2024 to 2025. Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025.
What was North Charleston's population in the 2020 census?
North Charleston spans Charleston County, Dorchester County, Berkeley County in South Carolina.
How big is North Charleston?
North Charleston covers 78.0 square miles of land, with a population density of about 1,657 residents per square mile. Source: Census Gazetteer 2025.
What is the median household income in North Charleston?
$62,956, about 22% below the U.S. median. Source: ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024.
SourceU.S. Census · PEP
VintageV2025
Reference2025-07-01
Place typeIncorporated place
GEOID4550875
Last build2026-10-09
Sources · provenance
Every listed dataset is used on this page.
The GEOID for North Charleston is 4550875. These are the official datasets used by this profile's main data modules; click "methodology" for inclusion rules and the V2019 ↔ V2025 seam, or "source" for the raw publisher page. The headline population value above includes a source-detail disclosure with publisher, dataset, vintage, native geography, transformation, and caveat.
