Housing Affordability Across South Carolina Counties

Charleston County sits at the top of South Carolina's home value ranking with a median of $450,800, while Allendale County records the lowest at $61,600. Across the state's 46 counties, housing affordability varies sharply by geography, local income levels, and whether residents rent or own.

Counties with the Highest Home Values

In Charleston County, the median home value sits at $450,800, while in Allendale County it is just $61,600. That 7.3x gap within a single state captures the uneven terrain of housing affordability across South Carolina's 46 counties. Statewide, the median owner-occupied home is valued at $158,600, and the median gross rent is $878 per month, but those figures mask wide variation from the coast to the Piedmont to the Pee Dee.

1. Charleston County, South Carolina: median home value $450,800, median household income $84,320, cost burden 32.6%
2. Beaufort County, South Carolina: median home value $407,600, median household income $84,819, cost burden 29.4%
3. York County, South Carolina: median home value $322,700, median household income $83,060, cost burden 23.8%
4. Lancaster County, South Carolina: median home value $298,100, median household income $74,751, cost burden 20.9%
5. Dorchester County, South Carolina: median home value $294,400, median household income $76,896, cost burden 28.3%

Most Affordable Counties by Home Value

The counties with the lowest median home values are concentrated in rural and lower-income areas of the state. Low home values do not automatically mean affordability, since local household incomes also tend to be lower, and the cost burden rate in several of these counties is above the state median.

1. Allendale County, South Carolina: median home value $61,600, median household income $31,603, cost burden 27.8%
2. Marlboro County, South Carolina: median home value $74,500, median household income $36,293, cost burden 23.8%
3. Dillon County, South Carolina: median home value $84,400, median household income $44,038, cost burden 22.3%
4. Marion County, South Carolina: median home value $86,800, median household income $34,501, cost burden 20.2%
5. Williamsburg County, South Carolina: median home value $95,100, median household income $43,471, cost burden 31.3%

Where Cost Burden Is Highest

Cost burden, defined as spending 30% or more of household income on housing, affects a median of 24.3% of households across South Carolina's counties. In the most burdened counties, that share rises well above that level, often in places where rental housing is the primary tenure and local incomes are low. The counties with the highest rates of housing cost burden tend to combine modest median rents with very limited household income, meaning even relatively low-cost units consume an outsized share of earnings.

1. Richland County, South Carolina: 34.4% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,185, median home value $224,200
2. Charleston County, South Carolina: 32.6% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,506, median home value $450,800
3. Williamsburg County, South Carolina: 31.3% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $769, median home value $95,100
4. Beaufort County, South Carolina: 29.4% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $1,484, median home value $407,600
5. Barnwell County, South Carolina: 29.1% of households spending 30% or more of income on housing, median rent $695, median home value $97,200

Rent, Income, and the Affordability Squeeze

Median gross rent across South Carolina counties ranges widely, from $634 to $1,518 per month. The ratio of rent to income is where affordability pressure shows most clearly. Counties near Charleston, Hilton Head Island, and other coastal amenity markets see elevated home values driven partly by second-home and vacation demand, which can crowd out lower-income households seeking owner-occupied housing. Inland and rural counties face a different squeeze: lower incomes without proportionally lower housing costs.

Homeownership and Housing Stock

Owner-occupied housing rates vary across the state as well. Counties with higher rates of homeownership tend to show different affordability profiles than those dominated by renters. In many rural South Carolina counties, a larger share of residents own their homes, but the homes themselves may be older, of lower appraised value, and more difficult to finance or insure. High home values in coastal and suburban counties do not always translate to better outcomes for long-term residents if rising prices outpace local wage growth.

South Carolina in National Context

South Carolina's statewide median home value of $158,600 sits below the national median of $172,300, which may suggest broad affordability at first glance. Yet county-level data tells a more complicated story. The 7.3x spread in home values from the least to most expensive county means that aggregate figures obscure the real conditions facing residents in specific communities. For households in the most cost-burdened counties, housing consumes resources that might otherwise go toward savings, education, or healthcare.

Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates