CitytisticsShortlist

Mount Pleasant, SC vs North Charleston, SC

Mount Pleasant

South Carolina

vs

North Charleston

South Carolina

Across 36 directional measures we can compare, Mount Pleasant leads on 17 and North Charleston on 19. Counting measures is not an overall verdict: their importance depends on your priorities. Median rent is 51% higher in Mount Pleasant, and so is median household income.

Median gross rent
$2,159$1,430
Mount Pleasant is 51% higher
Median household income
$124,755$62,956
Mount Pleasant is 98% higher
Median home value
$748,500$302,200
Mount Pleasant is 148% higher

The Citytistics read

  • After the median rent, with other prices set to the US average, the median household has about $101,800 a year left in Mount Pleasant and $47,200 in North Charleston. Money goes further in Mount Pleasant, by about $54,600 a year.
  • A household earning Mount Pleasant's median of $124,755 would need about $116,000 in North Charleston to keep the same money after rent and local prices.
  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, rent outran pay by 1.9 points a year in Mount Pleasant, and pay outran rent by 0.4 points a year in North Charleston.

How these are calculated

South CarolinaNorth Charleston, SCMount Pleasant, SCMount PleasantNorth CharlestonMount PleasantNorth Charleston

Which fits you?

Both start on the Citytistics Index (CTX). Move the sliders to weigh what matters to you and the score becomes your own mix.

Your weights

Top 2 of 2 matching places. Places in the top 1% show their national rank.

#PlaceCTXAffordabilityEconomyEducationSafetyCommuteAmenitiesGrowth
01Mount Pleasant, SCComposite 61.2 / 100
79
30849462505952
02North Charleston, SCComposite 38.5 / 100
21
1946436536693

CTX is the Citytistics Index: better than that share of the places we rate. It tops out at 99, so the top 1% show their national rank (#1 is best). Change any weight to rank on your own mix. How the CTX is built

Every measure

The dots show where each place sits among the 6,645 places we track. The bar is the median. A small dot after a value marks the better one.

MeasureMount PleasantNorth CharlestonAmong all places
Cost of living
Median gross rent1$2,159$1,430
Rent to income120.8%27.3%
Property tax rate10.3%0.5%
Home price to income16.0x4.8x
Prices vs US average2101.0101.0
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3$1,884$1,884
HUD area median income4$117,500$117,500
Housing
Property tax paid (median)1$2,300$1,527
Median home value1$748,500$302,200
Home prices, 1-year change52.3%2.0%
Home prices, 5-year change570.8%56.5%
Homeownership173.6%49.8%
Renters paying 30%+155.3%55.4%
Owner costs with a mortgage1$2,603$1,652
Vacant homes110.1%10.2%
Median year built120001996
Jobs and income
Median household income1$124,755$62,956
Income per person1$73,202$36,019
Unemployment13.3%4.3%
Average annual pay6$72,198$70,179
Pay growth, 1 year65.8%2.9%
Jobs6283,98570,252
Poverty rate16.1%14.4%
Mean commute125 min25 min
Works from home126.7%9.7%
Commutes by transit10.9%1.7%
People
Population193,993119,913
Population change since 202074.9%12.5%
Median age142.634.6
Bachelor's or higher168.4%28.6%
High school or higher197.9%88.7%
Household size12.32.4
Born abroad14.7%11.0%
No health insurance14.0%15.4%
Homes with broadband183.9%89.2%
Moving
Moved here in the past year17.1%11.3%
Moved from another state14.8%5.0%
Net movers per 1,000 people85.427.5
Income of households moving in8$104,019$72,609
Income of households moving out8$76,444$67,518
Local life
Restaurants and bars per 10k933.913.3
Shops per 10k949.621.4
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k97.52.5
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k929.811.1
Child care centers per 10k92.41.6
Parks per 10k109.615.5
Playgrounds per 10k109.618.8
Grocery stores per 10k103.03.1
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k1021.226.9
Libraries per 10k100.61.0
Named paths and bike trails1019.137.5
Transit stops per sq mi101.20.2
Nearest National Park Service site113.215.0
National Park Service sites within 60 miles1144
National Register listings12148
Founded or incorporated13n/a1972
Safety
Violent crime per 100k14131666
Property crime per 100k141,0113,421
Schools
Public schools15534
Public school students155,33419,771
Students per teacher1517.412.7
Climate
July average high1691°F92°F
January average low1639°F37°F
Average temperature1666°F65°F
Annual precipitation1650.1 in50.4 in
Hazards and air
Natural hazard risk1798.694.8
Hurricane risk1799.698.3
Tornado risk1771.078.1
Wildfire risk1793.989.8
Heat wave risk1782.770.4
Median air quality index184735
Good air days1860.8%93.3%

Data bundle checked 2026-11-14; individual source vintages vary. Rent needed at the 30% line: Mount Pleasant $86,360, North Charleston $57,200 a year.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  8. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  9. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  10. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  11. National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
  12. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  13. Wikidata · Wikimedia Foundation (CC0) · Retrieved 2026-11
  14. Crime Data Explorer · Federal Bureau of Investigation · 2025 data
  15. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  16. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  17. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  18. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology.

Keep comparing

Other places people weigh against these two, and each one in full.