Charleston is a relatively large coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of South Carolina. With a population of 153,672 people and 47 associated neighborhoods, Charleston is the largest community in South Carolina. Charleston has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Charleston, where the median household income is $83,891.00. Charleston home prices are not only among the most expensive in South Carolina, but Charleston real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Charleston is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 88.07% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Charleston is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Charleston who work in management occupations (14.50%), sales jobs (11.61%), and healthcare (9.15%). Also of interest is that Charleston has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 14.61% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Charleston is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. If knowledge is power, Charleston is a pretty powerful place. 57.39% of the adults in Charleston have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Charleston in 2022 was $55,890, which is wealthy relative to South Carolina and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $223,560 for a family of four. However, Charleston contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Charleston is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Charleston home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Charleston residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Charleston include English, German, Irish, Italian, and French. The most common language spoken in Charleston is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.
