# Charleston, South Carolina — #2,335 of 3,144 counties

> Liberty Moving composite score 5.73 of 10. FIPS 45019. Population 424,367. v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values.

About 424,400 people live in Charleston, South Carolina. It ranks #2,335 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #22 of 46 in South Carolina. The combined sales tax is 9%, higher than in 93% of counties. Property tax takes about 0.4% of a home's value each year, less than in 90% of counties. Local government employs a smaller share of working residents than in 89% of counties. The homicide rate is higher than in 92% of counties. Life expectancy is about 78.3 years, longer than in 77% of counties. Air quality is worse than in 73% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 46), and flood and hurricane risk is higher than in almost every other county. On this site's state scores, South Carolina gets 6.84 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 10 of 10 for gun rights.

## Scores

| Factor | Level | Score (0–10) | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fraser Institute state ranking | state | 6.84 |  |
| 2A | state | 10.00 |  |
| Air quality | county | 5.43 |  |
| GOP + LP vote for President | county | 4.70 |  |
| Homicide rate | county | 3.61 |  |
| Sales tax | county | 1.82 |  |
| Property tax | county | 8.00 |  |
| Floods / hurricanes | county | 0.02 |  |
| Life expectancy | county | 8.30 |  |
| Government employees | county | 8.92 |  |
| Single-parent households | county | 2.93 |  |

"est" marks a derived or placeholder value with no published county figure.

## Neighbors

- #2370 Georgetown, South Carolina — https://libertymoving.org/counties/45043.md
- #2160 Berkeley, South Carolina — https://libertymoving.org/counties/45015.md
- #2117 Dorchester, South Carolina — https://libertymoving.org/counties/45035.md
- #2936 Colleton, South Carolina — https://libertymoving.org/counties/45029.md

## Links

- Page: https://libertymoving.org/counties/45019
- Compare: https://libertymoving.org/compare?a=45019
- Methodology: https://libertymoving.org/methodology
- Sources and terms: https://libertymoving.org/privacy