Charleston Regional Development Alliance

Berkeley, Charleston & Dorchester Counties

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Charleston County


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Charleston County, S.C. Data Profile

Statistical Profile 
Total Area (land and water) 1,357 sq mi (3,515 sq km)
County Seat Charleston
Form of Government Council/Administrator
Gross Retail Sales (2008)1 $13 billion


Population & Demographics2
Population 2000 2008 % Change 2020 Projection
Charleston County 309,969 348,046 12.3% 366,380
Population by Age 2000 2008
19 or younger 27.3% 26.5%
20-24 8.5% 7.8%
25-34 14.9% 12.8%
35-54 28.8% 28.0%
55-64 8.6% 12.2%
65+ 11.9% 12.7%
Median Age 34.5 37.1
Population by Gender 2000 2008
Male 48.3% 48.5%
Female 51.7% 51.5%
Population by Race 2000 2008
White 61.9% 65.1%
Black or African-American 34.5% 30.9%
Asian 1.1% 1.2%
Other 3.5% 2.8%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)3 2.4% 3.8%
Households 2000 2008
Total Households 123,260 138,264
Median Household Income $37,810 $50,671
Average Household Income $52,985 $74,223
Educational Attainment 2000 2008
High School Diploma (or equivalent) or higher 81.5% 87.7%
Bachelors Degree or higher 30.7% 36.3%
Advanced Degree 11.0% 14.8%


Labor Force4
Labor Market 2000 2008 % Change
Civilian Labor Force 152,750 176,873 15.8%
Employment 147,850 167,505 13.3%
Unemployment rate (%) 3.2% 5.3%
Employment by Sector 20025 2008 % Change
County-wide employment 182,784 212,456 16.2%
Natural resources / mining / construction 6.7% 5.9%
Manufacturing 4.6% 5.4%
Trade / transportation / utilities 20.1% 19.5%
Information 1.7% 2.0%
Financial activities 5.0% 4.9%
Professional & business services 13.5% 14.6%
Educational & health services 10.8% 11.3%
Leisure & hospitality industries 13.8% 14.0%
Other services 3.0% 2.8%
Government / public administration 20.7% 19.6%


Selected Leading Employers6
Firm Product or Service # of Employees
Medical University Of South Carolina (MUSC) Hospital, post-secondary education, research 11,000
Charleston Air Force Base U.S. Air Force 7,000
Boeing Charleston Aircraft manufacturing 3,000
Force Protection Inc. Mine-protected vehicles, military class vehicles 1,300
Verizon Wireless Inbound/outbound call center 1,050
KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. Paper, packaging, forest products 850
Scientific Research Corporation Communications & monitoring systems & equipment 560
Cummins Turbo Technologies Manufacture turbo-chargers & air compressors 500
Eagan, McAllister Associates, Inc. Engineering, applied technology 450
MWV (MeadWestvaco Corporation) Diverse portfolio of specialty chemical products, community development, forest management 350
GEL Group Environmental laboratory and engineering services 350
Hill-Rom Inc. Specialty medical equipment 350
VT Milcom Engineering and technical services 250
Daimler Vans Manufacturing, LLC SKD production of Sprinter Vans for the US market 180
GenPhar Developing bio-defense vaccines 140
Automated Trading Desk Custom computer programming services 130


Notes & Sources:
(1) S.C. Dept of Revenue
(2) U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey and 2000 Census;
population projections from SC Budget and Control Board, Office of Research & Statistics
(3) Persons of Hispanic/Latino origin may be of any race.
(4) S.C. Employment Security Commission
(5) NAICS comparable historic data only available back to 2002 by county
(6) Center for Business Research, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce 10/2009