Charleston County, South Carolina Eviction Risk: Low

Charleston County carries an average eviction-risk score of 2.5/10 (Low), placing it at rank 44 of 46 South Carolina counties, meaning 43 of the state's counties score higher and represent more landlord risk. Across the county's 16 tracked cities, conditions generally favor operators, though the intra-county spread from 2.7 to 4.9 is wide enough that picking the right submarket matters. With an average rent of $1,750 and a renter share of 38.9%, Charleston County offers a solid tenant base in most parts of South Carolina eviction laws's coastal corridor.

The aggregate score reflects a county where eviction caseloads and economic stress remain relatively contained, but pockets of elevated risk exist at the community level. Landlords should treat the county average as a floor, not a uniform guarantee, because the 2.2-point gap between the safest and riskiest cities in the grid is meaningful in practice.

The cities inside Charleston County

The highest-risk locations are small communities at the county's edges. Lincolnville tops the list at 4.9/10, followed closely by Ravenel at 4.8/10 (population 2,615) and Awendaw at 4.6/10. James Island (4.5/10, population 12,198) and Hollywood (4.5/10, population 5,382) round out the upper tier. These scores are meaningfully above the county average and warrant sharper tenant screening and reserves for investors active in those communities.

The lowest-risk cities skew toward the county's larger, more economically stable markets. Mount Pleasant scores 2.7/10 with a population of 93,993, making it both the safest and one of the most populous cities in the county. Kiawah Island follows at 2.8/10. The county seat of Charleston itself registers 3.5/10 across a population of 154,338, while North Charleston, the second-largest city at 119,913 residents, sits at 3.4/10. Risk is hyper-local here: a landlord operating in Mount Pleasant eviction risk faces a fundamentally different operating environment than one with units in Lincolnville, despite sharing the same county.

State-level laws that apply here

Under South Carolina eviction laws state law, specifically the South Carolina eviction laws Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code § 27-40), landlords must serve a 5-day notice for nonpayment of rent before filing, a 14-day cure notice for lease violations, and a 30-day notice for end-of-term no-cause terminations. An uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested case can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Understanding the South Carolina eviction laws eviction process end to end is essential before acquiring rentals anywhere in the county, because timeline expectations directly affect cash-flow modeling.

Filing fees run $110 to $200, sheriff lockout fees $25 to $100, and attorney fees $500 to $2,500 depending on case complexity. South Carolina eviction laws imposes no rent control and requires no just cause to end a tenancy, and state law preempts any locality from enacting rent caps, so there is no patchwork of local ordinances to navigate. For a full breakdown of what each step costs, the South Carolina eviction costs guide covers filing, service, and legal fees in detail. South Carolina eviction laws does not extend protected status to source of income, which is relevant for operators screening tenants who use housing vouchers. Entry requires at least 24 hours notice under S.C. Code § 27-40.

With a poverty rate of 11.2% and 38.9% of households renting, Charleston County's risk profile is shaped by a renter population that is, on average, financially stable relative to most of South Carolina; see the city grid above to compare individual community scores before committing capital to a specific submarket.