Who is here
How many people live in Charleston, how that changed since 2010, and who they are.
On this page
At a glance
Population
159,423
Vintage 2025 estimate, as of July 1.
V2025
Change since 2020
5.8%
V2025
People per square mile
1,309/sq mi
2020 CEN
Median age
36.1 yrs
± 0.6
2019–23
Over time
Fifteen years of counting
Population - the figures behind the chart
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 120,083 |
| 2020 | 150,227 |
| 2025 | 159,423 |
2010 & 2020 CEN; V2025 EST
Geography
Where the density actually is
The same tracts as a 3D model, with height rather than colour carrying the density. Colour bins flatten the top of this range; height does not. Loads about 600 KB of 3D code, so it waits until you ask.
All 99 tracts, as a table
| Tract | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tract 4 | 13,866/sq mi |
| Census Tract 10 | 13,186/sq mi |
| Census Tract 7 | 10,572/sq mi |
| Census Tract 15 | 8,110/sq mi |
| Census Tract 1 | 8,108/sq mi |
| Census Tract 53 | 7,680/sq mi |
| Census Tract 11 | 7,078/sq mi |
| Census Tract 59 | 6,061/sq mi |
| Census Tract 5 | 4,938/sq mi |
| Census Tract 27.02 | 4,721/sq mi |
| Census Tract 36 | 4,716/sq mi |
| Census Tract 2 | 4,618/sq mi |
| Census Tract 40 | 4,003/sq mi± |
| Census Tract 31.10 | 3,921/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.17 | 3,872/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.12 | 3,850/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.13 | 3,681/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.16 | 3,609/sq mi |
| Census Tract 38 | 3,536/sq mi |
| Census Tract 37 | 3,506/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.12 | 3,363/sq mi |
| Census Tract 6 | 3,321/sq mi± |
| Census Tract 35 | 3,252/sq mi |
| Census Tract 43 | 3,208/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.04 | 3,051/sq mi |
| Census Tract 47.01 | 3,006/sq mi |
| Census Tract 51 | 2,977/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.02 | 2,921/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.19 | 2,919/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.22 | 2,875/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.06 | 2,732/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.04 | 2,728/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.14 | 2,722/sq mi |
| Census Tract 9 | 2,619/sq mi |
| Census Tract 29 | 2,585/sq mi |
| Census Tract 47.02 | 2,403/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.05 | 2,343/sq mi |
| Census Tract 27.01 | 2,313/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.21 | 2,312/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.13 | 2,184/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.09 | 2,132/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.07 | 2,084/sq mi |
| Census Tract 28.01 | 2,074/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.11 | 2,036/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.08 | 2,016/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.05 | 1,985/sq mi |
| Census Tract 30 | 1,976/sq mi |
| Census Tract 33 | 1,929/sq mi |
| Census Tract 57.01 | 1,906/sq mi |
| Census Tract 19.02 | 1,833/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.06 | 1,797/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.07 | 1,739/sq mi |
| Census Tract 34 | 1,712/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.15 | 1,677/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.16 | 1,623/sq mi |
| Census Tract 56.01 | 1,571/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.15 | 1,455/sq mi |
| Census Tract 49.01 | 1,452/sq mi |
| Census Tract 28.02 | 1,362/sq mi |
| Census Tract 44 | 1,279/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.05 | 1,263/sq mi |
| Census Tract 56.02 | 1,236/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.17 | 1,222/sq mi |
| Census Tract 19.01 | 1,210/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.18 | 1,209/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.13 | 1,150/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.09 | 1,066/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.14 | 1,025/sq mi |
| Census Tract 39 | 986/sq mi |
| Census Tract 21.07 | 977/sq mi |
| Census Tract 54 | 958/sq mi± |
| Census Tract 31.11 | 958/sq mi |
| Census Tract 26.06 | 934/sq mi |
| Census Tract 31.07 | 876/sq mi |
| Census Tract 48 | 827/sq mi |
| Census Tract 49.02 | 803/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.10 | 781/sq mi |
| Census Tract 46.20 | 685/sq mi |
| Census Tract 55 | 556/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.09 | 454/sq mi |
| Census Tract 21.06 | 435/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.08 | 410/sq mi |
| Census Tract 32 | 373/sq mi |
| Census Tract 57.02 | 344/sq mi |
| Census Tract 20.04 | 295/sq mi± |
| Census Tract 21.05 | 272/sq mi |
| Census Tract 58 | 223/sq mi |
| Census Tract 21.04 | 200/sq mi |
| Census Tract 25.04 | 191/sq mi |
| Census Tract 21.08 | 153/sq mi |
| Census Tract 25.03 | 135/sq mi |
| Census Tract 21.03 | 94/sq mi |
| Census Tract 22 | 65/sq mi |
| Census Tract 24.01 | 42/sq mi |
| Census Tract 24.02 | 29/sq mi± |
| Census Tract 23 | 23/sq mi |
| Census Tract 50.02 | 21/sq mi |
| Census Tract 50.01 | 14/sq mi |
| Census Tract 9901 | Not available |
2019–23 · B01003
Composition
Every age, both sexes
Widest band: 10,953 people
The figures behind the chart
| Residents | Value |
|---|---|
| Male, Under 5 | 3,571 |
| Female, Under 5 | 4,164 |
| Male, 5–9 | 4,376 |
| Female, 5–9 | 3,361 |
| Male, 10–14 | 3,690 |
| Female, 10–14 | 3,094 |
| Male, 15–19 | 4,690 |
| Female, 15–19 | 4,421 |
| Male, 20–24 | 6,637 |
| Female, 20–24 | 6,636 |
| Male, 25–29 | 6,805 |
| Female, 25–29 | 6,984 |
| Male, 30–34 | 7,315 |
| Female, 30–34 | 7,766 |
| Male, 35–44 | 10,468 |
| Female, 35–44 | 10,953 |
| Male, 45–54 | 6,875 |
| Female, 45–54 | 8,617 |
| Male, 55–64 | 8,056 |
| Female, 55–64 | 9,037 |
| Male, 65–74 | 6,214 |
| Female, 65–74 | 8,299 |
| Male, 75–84 | 2,585 |
| Female, 75–84 | 4,282 |
| Male, 85+ | 998 |
| Female, 85+ | 2,120 |
2019–23 · B01001
Composition
Who that is
The figures behind the chart
| Race and ethnicity | Value |
|---|---|
| White alone, not Hispanic | 71.7% |
| Black alone | 15.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6.1% |
| Two or more races | 5.9% |
| Asian alone | 1.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone | 0.7% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone | 0.1% |
ACS 2020–24
Reading it
What’s notable
Charleston added 30,144 people between the 2010 and 2020 censuses - 25.1% growth over the decade - and the Bureau estimates another 9,196 since. That is the pressure behind almost every housing number on this site.
The median resident is 36.1 - 2.8 years younger than the national median of 38.9 - and 52.5% of the city is female, above the national 50.5%. Whatever the citywide split, it widens in the oldest bands, where women outlive men.
Density is the number to be careful with. Charleston's city limits grew from 108.98 to 114.76 square miles between the two censuses - 5.3% more ground - so a rising population and a rising density are partly the same fact counted twice, and partly a boundary that moved.
The counts and the structure come from different places. The population figure is the Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimate; the age and sex detail is the American Community Survey five-year file, which puts the city at 152,014 across 2019–2023. Neither is wrong - they measure different spans - which is why they are never drawn on the same axis.
Sources
These are estimates. Most figures here come from surveys of a sample, not a count of everyone, and different rows carry different vintages - each number shows its own rather than being averaged into a single date. Where a margin of error is published it is shown; anything wider than about 30% of its own estimate is flagged, and on maps it is hatched. Read those as “we don’t really know” rather than as a number.
Data retrieved: July 29, 2026
Questions
What is the population of Charleston, SC?+
The Census Bureau estimates 159,423 residents in Charleston city as of July 1, 2025. That is the city proper - Charleston County is several times larger, and the figure people often quote for “Charleston” is the metro area, larger still.
Is Charleston growing?+
Yes. The city counted 58,409 residents in the 2010 census and 70,720 in 2020, and the Census Bureau estimates 75,310 as of July 2025 - about 5.9% growth since the 2020 base. Some of that is annexation rather than in-migration: the city’s land area grew by roughly a square mile between the two censuses.
What is the median age in Charleston?+
36.1 years, per American Community Survey five-year estimates. That is younger than South Carolina as a whole, which is what a city with this much recent in-migration tends to look like.
Why don’t the race and ethnicity percentages add up to 100?+
Because they are not meant to. The Census Bureau records Hispanic or Latino origin as an ethnicity, separately from race, so a person counted as Hispanic also appears in whichever race row they selected. The “White alone, not Hispanic” row is the one that excludes that overlap.
Why does the map cover more than the city?+
Census tracts are county subdivisions and do not stop at municipal boundaries. The map shows every tract in Charleston County, which is the smallest geography the Bureau publishes this measure for. The city sits inside it.
How current are these numbers?+
They carry different vintages, which is why each one shows its own. The population estimate is the Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series. The age, sex, and demographic detail is American Community Survey five-year data, meaning it describes an average across five years rather than a single moment.