What is the cost of living in Charleston-North Charleston?

Charleston-North Charleston has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 101.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 119.8, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,787/month.

What is the median salary in Charleston-North Charleston?

The median salary in Charleston-North Charleston is $67,686 annually (mean: $71,878). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Charleston-North Charleston?

The violent crime rate in the Charleston-North Charleston area is 439 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1988 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Charleston-North Charleston?

The state of SC has 1,215 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.3:1. Charter schools make up 7.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Charleston-North Charleston?

Infant center-based childcare in the Charleston-North Charleston area averages $7,732 per year. Preschool averages $7,402/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Charleston-North Charleston a good place to relocate?

Charleston-North Charleston has a Life Score of 44.8/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Charleston-North Charleston sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Charleston-North Charleston ranks #100 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

BEA RPP 101.0 ranks #320 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

101.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,787
2BR rent / mo: $67,686
Median salary: 56.4
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Charleston-North Charleston ranks #100 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (56.4/100), with its strongest marks in safety and climate.

#100
of 387 US metros · Above median: 5,478,831
metro-area population: 439
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,215
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (15/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Charleston-North Charleston ranks #100 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 101.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,787/mo, median salary $67,686; LiveAbility Score 56.4/100, strongest in safety and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 101.0 ranks #320 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 101.0 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,787/mo.

LiveAbility 56.4/100 puts Charleston-North Charleston in the top third (#100 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Charleston-North Charleston area is 381,130.

Charleston-North Charleston vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

56 Top 26% higher than 74% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Charleston-North Charleston housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Charleston-North Charleston MSA; housing RPP 119.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,787/mo.

Studio

$1,557

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,630

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,787

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,222

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,562

/month

Charleston-North Charleston wages and employment

Charleston-North Charleston posts 381,130 total employment with median salary $67,686 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$67,686

Mean Salary

$71,878

Total Employment

381,130

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$34,090
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,500
Registered Nurses	$92,800
Waiters and Waitresses	$19,340
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$38,090

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Charleston-North Charleston area from NCES.

Schools

1,215

Enrollment

784,749

Student:Teacher

14.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Charleston-North Charleston area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$7,732

per year

Toddler (Center)

$7,449

per year

Preschool (Center)

$7,402

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Charleston-North Charleston's composite Life Score is 44.8/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

17/100

Bottom decile

Wages

70/100

Strong

Rent

15/100

Bottom decile

Crime

98/100

Elite

Schools

26/100

Weak

Childcare

71/100

Strong

Environment

7/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Charleston-North Charleston ranks #100 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 56.4/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (98/100)

Safety

98
Climate

86
Low hazard

78
Schools

74
Job market

70
Air quality

51
Cost of living

17
Housing

15

What this shows Charleston-North Charleston's strongest dimensions are safety and climate; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 15/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Charleston-North Charleston to

Kalamazoo-Portage Kankakee Kansas City Kennewick-Richland Kenosha Killeen-Temple

Metros near Charleston-North Charleston on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Charleston-North Charleston on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Charleston-North Charleston cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Charleston-North Charleston wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Charleston-North Charleston?

Charleston-North Charleston runs a $67,686 median salary at a 101.0 cost index, ranking #100 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Charleston-North Charleston's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Charleston-North Charleston head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Charleston-North Charleston
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.