Your monthly guide to rental conditions in Charleston Metro. This is our August 2026 report, covering July 2026 rental data: what rents looked like last month, what's driving the market, and what it means if you own a rental home.
Charleston Metro Rental Market Snapshot — July 2026
Here's where Charleston Metro rents landed in July 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
The Charleston Metro median rent hit $2,064 in July 2026, up 4.66% year-over-year, while homes leased in just 14 days on average. Demand is moving fast and pricing is trending up, so landlords with vacancies have real leverage heading into late summer.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, Charleston Metro) | $2,064 | +0.1% MoM |
| Avg. Days on Market | 14 days | — |
| Rent Growth YoY | +4.7% | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, July 2026.
What's Driving Charleston Metro Rental Market Conditions Right Now
Charleston Metro Rental Supply and New Construction
New construction across the Charleston metro is tapering fast. Multifamily starts fell 72% and completions are expected to drop 73% through 2025, and permitting confirmed the same direction: Charleston County issued 4,153 units in 2024, down from 4,558 in 2023. The pipeline that does exist concentrates along the I-26 corridor through North Charleston and Summerville (workforce-focused apartments and build-to-rent townhomes aimed at families priced out of the peninsula), and on Daniel Island, where small-scale BTR development targets higher-income renters. By 2026 and 2027, supply constraints across all rental types — apartments, townhomes, condos, and single-family, are expected to tighten further as financing pressures keep new projects from breaking ground.
Why People Rent in Charleston Metro
South Carolina is the fastest-growing state in the country, and the Charleston metro is absorbing 32 to 42 new residents per day, drawn by jobs at Boeing's North Charleston campus, the Volvo plant in Ridgeville, the Port of Charleston logistics cluster, and MUSC's expanding medical workforce. Buying a home here requires roughly $111,000 in annual income to be comfortable, versus about $77,000 to rent comfortably, a 44% gap that keeps creditworthy households in the rental market longer than they might prefer. That demand spreads across the metro's distinct corridors: professionals anchor to the peninsula and Mount Pleasant's East Cooper schools, logistics and manufacturing workers cluster along I-26 through Summerville and North Charleston, and value-seekers land in West Ashley and Park Circle, where rents run well below the metro median.
What This Means for Charleston Metro Landlords
July closed with the Charleston metro median rent at $2,064 and homes leasing in 14 days on average, strong numbers, but the seasonal window is shifting now. Charleston families move during summer to avoid disrupting the school year, so August activity tends to thin out quickly once move-in dates push past early September; if your unit is vacant today, price it to close this week rather than waiting for a better offer that is unlikely to materialize once fall sets in. With supply shrinking and demand compounding, landlords who lock in a quality tenant now are in a stronger position heading into the slower fall and winter stretch.
Charleston Metro Rent by City — July 2026
Mount Pleasant led the Charleston metro in leasing speed in July, with homes renting in just 12 days on average, closely followed by Goose Creek at 13 days. Charleston sat at the soft end of the table, taking 18 days on average and trending slightly faster month-over-month. Across the metro, all five cities leased within three weeks, but the roughly six-day gap between Mount Pleasant and Charleston shows that suburban demand outpaced the urban core.
| City | Median Rent | 2BR Median | 3BR Median | Avg. DOM | MoM Change | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston, SC | $2,522 | $2,931 | $3,382 | 18 days | +0.2% | +0.1% |
| North Charleston, SC | $1,711 | $1,632 | $1,941 | 16 days | +0.5% | +4.1% |
| Mount Pleasant, SC | $2,458 | $2,505 | $3,484 | 12 days | -0.1% | +10.9% |
| Summerville, SC | $1,831 | $1,661 | $2,169 | 14 days | -0.3% | +9.2% |
| Goose Creek, SC | $1,800 | $1,619 | $2,065 | 13 days | +0.0% | -1.0% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all property types, July 2026. Median Rent is across all property types. |
-
Charleston, SC: Downtown's peninsula draws medical professionals and premium-seeking renters anchored by MUSC and the walkable King Street corridor, keeping rents at the metro's highest level. At $2,522 median rent and 18 days on market in July, Charleston held its ground with a roughly flat +0.2% month-over-month move and near-zero year-over-year growth, signaling a stable but fully priced market where landlords have little room to push rents higher.
-
North Charleston, SC: Park Circle and the Navy Yard redevelopment corridor pull in renters priced out of the peninsula and young professionals drawn to improving walkability, giving North Charleston the metro's most accessible entry point. At $1,711 median rent, it leased the fastest among the larger cities at 16 days on market, and its +4.1% year-over-year gain was the second-strongest in the metro, showing steady upward rent pressure even at an affordable price point.
-
Mount Pleasant, SC: The East Cooper school cluster, anchored by Wando High School, makes this city a consistent draw for families who tend to sign longer leases and prioritize school quality over price. At $2,458 median rent and just 12 days on market in July, Mount Pleasant leased the quickest of any city in this table, and its +10.9% year-over-year rent increase was the strongest by a wide margin, confirming tight supply relative to demand.
-
Summerville, SC: At $1,831 median rent, Summerville pulled back a modest 0.3% month-over-month, but its +9.2% year-over-year gain is the second-highest in the metro and points to lasting rent growth rather than a soft market. Homes leased in 14 days in July, well below average, so minor monthly dips look like normal seasonal noise against a strong longer-term trend.
-
Goose Creek, SC: At $1,800 median rent and 13 days on market in July, Goose Creek leased quickly and sits at a competitive price point relative to the broader metro. Rents were flat month-over-month and slipped 1.0% year-over-year, so landlords here should price sharply at market rate rather than testing incremental increases, since the data suggests renters have affordable alternatives nearby.
Charleston Metro Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — July 2026
Rent by Bedroom Count in Charleston Metro
Rent across the Charleston metro scales predictably with size, but the gaps are far from uniform. Studios and 1-bedrooms sat within $20 of each other in July 2026, at $1,708 and $1,688 respectively, making them effectively interchangeable on price. From there, each step up costs meaningfully more: 2-bedroom rentals ran $2,070 (+$382 over 1-bedrooms), 3-bedrooms hit $2,608 (+$538), and 4-bedrooms reached $3,616, a $1,008 jump that pushed the top of the range to more than double the studio median. The $1,908 spread between the smallest and largest categories shows just how wide the Charleston metro rental market runs in July.
| Bedroom Count in Charleston Metro | Median Rent (July 2026) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,708 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,688 |
| 2-Bedroom | $2,070 |
| 3-Bedroom | $2,608 |
| 4-Bedroom | $3,616 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Charleston Metro, July 2026. |
Rent by Property Type in Charleston Metro
Single-family homes commanded the steepest premium in the Charleston metro in July 2026, with a median rent of $2,972, which is $907 (43.9%) above the blended metro median of $2,064. Apartments sat at the opposite end, renting for $1,907, or 7.7% below the blended median, but they moved fastest at just 9 days on market. Townhouses fell in between at $2,519 (22.0% above the blended median), yet took the longest to lease at 41 days, suggesting renters weigh their options more carefully at that price point. Condos tracked closest to the blended median at $2,001, just $63 below it, and leased in 25 days.
| Property Type in Charleston Metro | Median Rent | Avg. Days on Market | MoM Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Property Types (Blended) | $2,064 | 14 days | +0.1% |
| Single Family | $2,972 | 26 days | +0.2% |
| Condo | $2,001 | 25 days | +0.1% |
| Townhouse | $2,519 | 41 days | +0.7% |
| Apartment | $1,907 | 9 days | +0.2% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Charleston Metro, July 2026. |
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed rental homes across all property types, including days to lease. Trailing 12 months.
Data refreshed monthly. Doorstead benchmarks reflect managed properties only and may not be representative of the broader Charleston Metro rental market.
Data Sources & Methodology
- Rental market data: Median rents, days on market, listing counts, and rent change figures. Sourced from county public records, deed and tax assessor data, and rental listings on publicly accessible platforms.
- Doorstead Platform Data: Internal leasing outcomes from Doorstead-managed rental homes across all property types, including days to lease. Trailing 12 months.
Data refreshed monthly. Doorstead benchmarks reflect managed properties only and may not be representative of the broader Charleston Metro rental market.