PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

45.7
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#261
of 387 metros
33%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Charleston ranks #261 of 387 US metros, ahead of 33% - carried by its safety (98/100) and held back most by rent (15/100).

98
strongest: Safety
71
then: Childcare
15
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Charleston sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

46 33th percentile higher than 33% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Charleston Life Score

Charleston's composite score of 45.7 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #261 of 387, ahead of 33% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (98/100) and Childcare (71/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (15/100) and Environment (16/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 101.0 (rent-RPP 119.8). BLS median salary $67,686, 381,130 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,787/mo (studio $1,557).

FBI UCR (SC): 439 violent, 1988 property/100K. NCES: 14.3:1 ratio, 7.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,732/yr. EPA: 34 Superfund sites (SC). Ranks #258-#264 below.

Dimension detail

How Charleston scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 17/100 (20%)
Wages 70/100 (20%)
Rent 15/100 (15%)
Safety 98/100 (15%)
Schools 26/100 (10%)
Childcare 71/100 (10%)
Environment 16/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

101.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$67,686
Avg Median Salary
$1,787
2BR Fair Market Rent
439
Violent Crime/100K (SC)
14.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,732
Infant Childcare/yr (SC)
34
Superfund Sites (SC)
381,130
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Charleston With...

Charleston vs Spartanburg Compare → Charleston vs Sumter Compare → Charleston vs Florence Compare → Charleston vs Wildwood Compare → Charleston vs Waterloo Compare → Charleston vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Charleston outranks 33% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#258 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 45.8 C+
#259 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 45.8 C+
#260 Tucson, AZ 46.0 C+
#261 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 45.7 C+
#262 Amarillo, TX 45.7 C+
#263 Farmington, NM 45.7 C+
#264 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 45.7 C+

SC Metro Scores

Spartanburg, SC A 64.4 Sumter, SC A- 60.5 Florence, SC A- 60.2 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC B+ 58.5 Columbia, SC B 52.6

Using Charleston's Life Score

Charleston is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (98/100) and its weakest is rent (15/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Charleston head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Charleston lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Charleston's biggest strengths? ▼
Charleston's strongest dimensions are Safety (98/100), Childcare (71/100), Wages (70/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Charleston's weakest areas? ▼
Charleston's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (15/100), Environment (16/100), Cost of Living (17/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Charleston compared to the national average? ▼
Charleston's Regional Price Parity is 101.0 (1.0% more than national); rent RPP 119.8.
What is the average salary in Charleston? ▼
Charleston median salary: $67,686, 381,130 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Charleston's 45.7/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.