What is the cost of living in Charleston?

Charleston has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 51.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $869/month.

What is the median salary in Charleston?

The median salary in Charleston is $61,861 annually (mean: $64,877). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Charleston?

The violent crime rate in the Charleston area is 242 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1089 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Charleston?

The state of WV has 648 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.1:1. Charter schools make up 0.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Charleston?

Infant center-based childcare in the Charleston area averages $8,974 per year. Preschool averages $8,470/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Charleston a good place to relocate?

Charleston has a Life Score of 67.5/100 (C+), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Charleston in the top decile of scored metros, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Where does Charleston sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Charleston ranks #3 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, WV

LiveAbility 73.2/100 places Charleston #3 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.7
Cost index (US=100): $869
2BR rent / mo: $61,861
Median salary: 73.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Charleston ranks #3 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (73.2/100), with its strongest marks in housing and safety.

#3
of 387 US metros · Exceptional: 1,769,979
metro-area population: 242
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 648
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (28/100). 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 ranks #3 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $869/mo, median salary $61,861; LiveAbility Score 73.2/100, strongest in housing and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 73.2/100 places Charleston #3 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.7 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $869/mo.

LiveAbility 73.2/100 puts Charleston in the top third (#3 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Charleston area is 94,760.

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)

73 Top 1% higher than 99% 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 housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Charleston MSA; housing RPP 51.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $869/mo.

Studio

$669

/month

1 Bedroom

$674

/month

2 Bedroom

$869

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,195

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,458

/month

Charleston wages and employment

Charleston posts 94,760 total employment with median salary $61,861 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$61,861

Mean Salary

$64,877

Total Employment

94,760

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$80,230
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$28,680
Retail Salespersons	$29,050
Cooks, Fast Food	$23,180
Cashiers	$26,280

Schools & Education

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

Schools

648

Enrollment

242,956

Student:Teacher

13.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$8,974

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,493

per year

Preschool (Center)

$8,470

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Charleston's composite Life Score is 67.5/100 (C+), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

82/100

Elite

Wages

27/100

Weak

Rent

100/100

Elite

Crime

100/100

Elite

Schools

22/100

Weak

Childcare

63/100

Above average

Environment

72/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Charleston ranks #3 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 73.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (100/100)

Housing

100
Safety

100
Cost of living

82
Schools

79
Air quality

73
Low hazard

72
Climate

43
Job market

28

What this shows Charleston's strongest dimensions are housing and safety; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 28/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Charleston to

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Terre Haute Texarkana Toledo Topeka Traverse City

Metros near Charleston on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to 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 cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; 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?

Charleston runs a $61,861 median salary at a 88.7 cost index, ranking #3 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Charleston's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Charleston head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare 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.