Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Charleston's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Charleston?
Your $100,000 in Charleston has the same purchasing power as $94,127 in the average US city. You'd need $5,873 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Charleston's cost index of 106, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Charleston? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: solidly above-average earnings and the labor market runs tight, plus 6 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Median household income in Charleston is $83,891, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
The unemployment rate in Charleston sits at roughly 3.6%, which is a tight labor market by US standards. Salaries get nudged up faster, openings are easier to find, and switching jobs is less of a leap than it is in a softer market.
Summers in Charleston average about 85°F, winters around 46°F. That's the band where you get distinct seasons without either end being miserable — a real spring and fall, summers warm enough for the pool, winters cold enough for a jacket but not for survival gear.
Roughly 286 sunny days a year in Charleston, comfortably more than the national norm. Gray weeks happen; they're just the exception. Most of the year, the forecast leans bright.
Charleston reports about 2,272 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Charleston's air quality index averages about 42 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Charleston is about 23 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
57% of adults 25 and over in Charleston hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Charleston's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Almost never. Charleston's winter average of about 46°F is too warm for snow most years. A measurable snowfall is the kind of event that closes schools and gets photographed for the local paper.
Barely. Winter in Charleston averages around 46°F — short, mild, mostly an excuse to break out a light jacket. Some plants don't even drop their leaves.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Charleston runs about 85°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Charleston gets about 286 sunny days a year — well above the US average of around 205. If your mood tracks daylight, this is one of the easier US cities to live in.
Charleston falls in roughly USDA Zone 10. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Charleston sits roughly 3 feet (1 m) above sea level — basically at the waterline. Storm surge, king tides, and long-term sea-level rise are real considerations for any coastal property here.
Hurricane season covers June through November, with peak activity in late summer and early fall. For Charleston, the practical advice is: have a few days of water and supplies on hand from August onward, know your evacuation route, and don't wait for the news to tell you a storm is "probably nothing" — track the cone yourself.
Average for an American city. Charleston's reported crime rate of about 2,272 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Charleston's cost-of-living index is 106, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Charleston is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 6 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Transit Score is 9 out of 100. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $74,368 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Charleston runs about $1,517/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.