Your monthly guide to rental conditions in Charleston Metro. This is our July 2026 report, covering June 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 — June 2026
Here's where Charleston Metro rents stand as of June 2026, across all property types — apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes.
The Charleston Metro median rent reached $2,099 in June 2026, up slightly from $2,074 in May, with homes leasing in just 15 days. Rents are down 0.89% year-over-year as new apartment supply weighs on the market, but that speed number shows single-family demand is holding firm heading into summer.
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Median Rent (All Types, Charleston Metro) | $2,099 | +0.2% MoM |
| Avg. Days on Market | 15 days | — |
| Rent Growth YoY | -0.9% | — |
Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all rental property types, June 2026.
What's Driving Charleston Metro Rental Market Conditions Right Now
Charleston Metro Rental Supply and New Construction
The wave of new apartments that pushed Charleston rents down has crested. The metro delivered over 5,550 multifamily units in 2024, the highest annual total this century, but starts fell 72% and completions are expected to drop 73% in 2025, so that pressure is fading fast. The active pipeline has thinned to 8,180 units across 38 communities, with notable projects including a 277-unit mixed-use conversion of the historic Line Street train station in downtown Charleston, a 450-unit apartment and townhome community along the Clements Ferry Road corridor near Daniel Island, and a 114-unit build-to-rent community in Summerville's Nexton development scheduled to deliver in late 2027.
Why People Rent in Charleston Metro
Charleston keeps pulling in renters because the jobs keep coming. Google committed $9 billion to expand its Berkeley County data center campus and add two new Dorchester County sites through 2027, and Boeing consolidated its entire 787 Dreamliner engineering unit in North Charleston in early 2026, bringing roughly 300 jobs immediately and plans to hire 1,000+ more. At 6.49% mortgage rates, buying still pencils out poorly for most households, so renters stay put longer, especially in corridors like Mount Pleasant's East Cooper school cluster and West Ashley, where families and young professionals find more affordable footing than on the peninsula.
What This Means for Charleston Metro Landlords
Price aggressively right now. Spring is Charleston's peak leasing window, homes are moving in 15 days on average, and that speed advantage shrinks once the summer heat arrives and leasing activity cools. If your property is in Summerville or along the Clements Ferry Road corridor, you have room to push rents harder: Summerville is the only submarket posting positive year-over-year growth (+3.5%) and is averaging just 12 days on market.
Charleston Metro Rent by City — June 2026
Goose Creek leads the Charleston metro in leasing speed at just 9 days on market, making it the strongest demand signal in the table right now. Charleston and North Charleston are the softest spots, sitting at 22 and 19 days respectively, both noticeably slower than the suburban cities surrounding them. Most of the metro is moving quickly, with Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant, and Summerville all leasing in 12 days or fewer, while Charleston proper is the clear outlier on the slow end.
| City | Median Rent | 2BR Median | 3BR Median | Avg. DOM | MoM Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston, SC | $2,802 | $3,204 | $4,025 | 22 days | +0.2% |
| North Charleston, SC | $1,706 | $1,700 | $2,125 | 19 days | +0.1% |
| Mount Pleasant, SC | $2,545 | $2,450 | $3,315 | 12 days | +0.6% |
| Summerville, SC | $1,753 | $1,629 | $2,262 | 12 days | +0.2% |
| Goose Creek, SC | $1,691 | $1,558 | $2,100 | 9 days | +0.0% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, all property types, June 2026. Median Rent is across all property types. |
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Charleston, SC: Downtown Charleston pulls in medical professionals and premium renters anchored by MUSC and the King Street corridor, but at $2,802 median rent and 22 days on market, it's the priciest and slowest-leasing city in the metro. Rent is roughly flat month-over-month (+0.2%) and down 4.6% year-over-year, a clear sign that new multifamily supply is doing its work at the top of the market.
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North Charleston, SC: Park Circle and the Navy Yard redevelopment corridor attract renters priced out of the peninsula and young professionals drawn to improving walkability, making this the metro's most accessible entry point. At $1,706 median rent and 19 days on market, North Charleston is leasing briskly, and the +1.8% year-over-year gain shows rents are holding ground even as pricier submarkets soften.
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Mount Pleasant, SC: Families targeting the East Cooper school cluster, including Wando High School, drive consistent demand here and tend to sign longer leases, which keeps turnover low and vacancy risk down. Mount Pleasant is leasing fast at 12 days on market, and at $2,545 median rent, it's up 4.3% year-over-year, the strongest annual rent growth of any city in the metro.
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Summerville, SC: The Nexton master-planned community and proximity to Boeing's North Charleston campus, the Volvo plant in Ridgeville, and Port of Charleston logistics jobs give Summerville a deep, steady renter pool. Homes are moving in just 12 days at a $1,753 median rent, up 2.6% year-over-year, so well-priced listings here are getting picked up quickly with no sign of softening.
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Goose Creek, SC: At $1,691 median rent and just 9 days on market, Goose Creek is the fastest-leasing city in the metro by a wide margin. Rent is flat month-over-month, but the 8.7% year-over-year decline warrants attention: owners who price to current market conditions are still leasing quickly, but those anchored to last year's numbers will sit.
Charleston Metro Rent by Bedroom Count and Property Type — June 2026
Rent by Bedroom Count in Charleston Metro
Rent across the Charleston metro rises steadily with each bedroom added, but the pace of those increases is uneven. Studios and one-bedrooms sit nearly at the same level, just $4 apart at $1,700 and $1,696 respectively, while the jump to two bedrooms adds $412 to reach $2,108. From there, each additional bedroom delivers a larger step: $658 more to reach $2,766 for three bedrooms, then $970 more to reach $3,736 for four bedrooms. In total, four-bedroom renters pay $2,036 more per month than one-bedroom renters, a spread that reflects how sharply family-sized homes are priced above smaller units in this market.
| Bedroom Count in Charleston Metro | Median Rent (June 2026) |
|---|---|
| Studio | $1,700 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,696 |
| 2-Bedroom | $2,108 |
| 3-Bedroom | $2,766 |
| 4-Bedroom | $3,736 |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings across all property types, Charleston Metro, June 2026. |
Rent by Property Type in Charleston Metro
Single-family homes command the largest premium in the Charleston metro, with a median rent of $2,949 in June 2026, which is $849 (40.4%) above the blended metro median of $2,099. Townhouses land in the middle at $2,589, a $490 (23.3%) premium over the blended figure, though they take the longest to lease at 41 days. Apartments and condos both rent below the blended median, at $1,965 and $2,008 respectively, but apartments lease nearly twice as fast as condos, at 9 days versus 28. That gap between apartment and single-family rent ($984) is the widest spread across all four property types tracked this month.
| Property Type in Charleston Metro | Median Rent | Avg. Days on Market | MoM Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Property Types (Blended) | $2,099 | 15 days | +0.2% |
| Single Family | $2,949 | 23 days | -0.2% |
| Condo | $2,008 | 28 days | +0.1% |
| Townhouse | $2,589 | 41 days | +0.0% |
| Apartment | $1,965 | 9 days | +0.1% |
| Source: Doorstead market data, aggregated from public records and online rental listings, Charleston Metro, June 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.