Charleston, SC

The affordability dashboard for Charleston, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 10 ZIP codes covering 177,294 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (58/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $85,472, median home value of $510,160, median rent of $1,665 per month, and 50.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,787 per month (studio $1,557, 1BR $1,630, 3BR $2,222, 4BR $2,562). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,506 per year, consuming 12% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Charleston, SC include education. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 3.7% and poverty 14.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.