Charleston, SC Average Home Price (2026)
The average home price in Charleston is about $747,000 (the 2026 median, at ~$453/sq ft) — 158% more expensive than the typical U.S. home. Below: average prices by home size, what it costs to live here, and a free estimator for your own address.
Thinking of moving to Charleston?
Charleston sits in Charleston County, where the typical home runs $642,500.
Here’s what the numbers say about housing costs in Charleston. A typical home runs about $747,000, which is 158% more expensive than the national median and 217% more expensive than the South Carolina average. At roughly $453 per square foot, a median budget here buys you around 1,650 sq ft of home.
Prices swing a lot by neighborhood: across Charleston’s 7 ZIP codes, the most affordable is 29414 (~$468,000) and the priciest is 29401 (~$1,526,000) — roughly a 3.3× difference. If you’re relocating, that spread is where the real budgeting happens, so it pays to target ZIP by ZIP rather than the citywide average.
Charleston home value by size
Using the local rate of about $453 per square foot, here’s a rough estimate by home size. Condition, lot, and exact location move these meaningfully.
| Home size | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $453,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $679,500 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $906,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $1,132,500 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $1,359,000 |
Home value appreciation in Charleston
Home prices in Charleston have risen about 126% over the last 10 years (≈8.5% a year) and +164.2% over 20 years, according to the FHFA house price index through 2025. The most recent year came in at +2.8% — still rising. A home worth $747,000 today was worth roughly $330,970 ten years ago.
See where that trend takes a specific home with the home appreciation calculator — statewide, South Carolina is +104.3% over the same 10 years. Past appreciation is a track record, not a forecast; local prices can fall.
Calculators for Charleston
Run the numbers for Charleston with the local rates already filled in — change any input to test your own situation.
Salary needed to buy a home in Charleston
To buy the typical $747,000 home in Charleston with 20% down, you need a household income of roughly $203,000 a year (about $4,740 a month for the mortgage, taxes, and insurance). With 10% down the bar rises to about $241,000, because the loan is bigger and mortgage insurance kicks in.
| Down payment | Cash down | Monthly payment | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% (+PMI) | $37,400 | $5,890/mo | $253,000/yr |
| 10% (+PMI) | $74,700 | $5,630/mo | $241,000/yr |
| 20% | $149,400 | $4,740/mo | $203,000/yr |
Assumes a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5%, property tax at 1.1% and insurance at 0.45% of value per year, PMI of 0.75% on loans with less than 20% down, and the standard 28% housing-to-income rule. Your rate, taxes, and HOA will move these — run your own numbers in the mortgage calculator.
What your budget buys in Charleston
At about $453 per square foot, here is roughly how much home different budgets get you in Charleston:
| Budget | Approx. size | What that looks like locally |
|---|---|---|
| $400k | 880 sq ft | below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes |
| $500k | 1100 sq ft | below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes |
| $600k | 1320 sq ft | around the typical home here |
| $750k | 1660 sq ft | around the typical home here |
| $1.00M | 2210 sq ft | above the median — larger homes or the pricier ZIPs |
Wondering where that budget goes further? The relocation calculator ranks hundreds of U.S. cities by what the same money buys — it opens pre-filled with a typical Charleston home so you can see where a Charleston budget goes further.
Charleston home prices by ZIP code
Every Charleston ZIP code we track, from the priciest to the most affordable. Click a ZIP for its own page with price per square foot, value by home size, and the salary needed to buy there.
| ZIP code | Typical home value | $ / sq ft | vs Charleston median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29401 | $1,526,000 | $1089 | +104% |
| 29492 | $982,000 | $481 | +31% |
| 29403 | $855,000 | $645 | +14% |
| 29455 | $747,000 | $453 | +0% |
| 29412 | $594,000 | $399 | -20% |
| 29407 | $526,000 | $363 | -30% |
| 29414 | $468,000 | $258 | -37% |
Moving to Charleston from somewhere else? Compare your current home against Charleston prices — enter your ZIP and the calculator shows whether your budget buys more or less here.
Living in Charleston: what to know before you move
Home prices tell you what it costs to buy in Charleston, but daily life depends on much more. On housing alone, a typical home here runs $747,000 (~$453/sq ft), 158% more expensive than the national median — making Charleston relatively expensive to buy in. That’s usually the biggest line in a household budget, but it’s only part of the picture. Here’s where to research the things home values don’t capture:
- Schools. School quality varies widely by neighborhood and shapes both family life and resale value. Check Charleston school ratings and attendance zones on GreatSchools.
- Cost of living. Beyond the mortgage, weigh groceries, utilities, healthcare, and local taxes. Compare Charleston’s cost of living.
- Safety. Crime and safety differ block to block, so check local data before settling on an area. Review Charleston crime and safety stats.
- The bigger picture. For history, economy, climate, and local context, read about Charleston on Wikipedia.
We specialize in housing data; the links above go to independent sources so you can verify schools, safety, and cost of living for yourself — the details that matter most when you’re choosing where to live.
Estimate your specific home in Charleston
Enter your ZIP and size for an instant estimate tailored to your exact area:
Charleston home prices: frequently asked
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Grow your home’s value in Charleston
Use our Increase Home Value calculator to see which improvements add the most, or read the pre-sale projects that actually pay off. See how Charleston stacks up against other South Carolina cities on the South Carolina home values page, or browse the full U.S. directory.
Directional estimates from public market data (Realtor.com & Zillow research), not appraisals. Actual values vary by home and change over time.
Nearby cities
Home prices in cities near Charleston: