Who Actually Lives in Downtown Charleston Year Round?

Posted By Brian Walsh @ Jun 3rd 2026 10:00am

A client called me last week with a question that gets right to the heart of buying downtown.

How many of the people who own homes in downtown Charleston actually live there full-time?

It is a fair thing to wonder. If you are walking a quiet block of South Battery Street in August, you might worry that you are about to buy a house on a street where half the neighbors only show up for Christmas. So I did some digging after we hung up. Here is the honest answer, along with the two forces that explain it.

Most homes on the Charleston peninsula are full-time residences

Across 29401 and 29403 as a whole, roughly 65 to 70 percent of homes are occupied by full-time, year-round residents. The remainder is a mix of second homes, seasonal-use properties, and normal rental turnover. The U.S. Census tracks this in its housing data, and the share has been steady for years.

But the peninsula average tells you very little about the street you are actually thinking about. The Lower Peninsula is not one neighborhood. It is eight or nine small ones stacked into roughly two square miles. South of Broad does not feel like Cannonborough-Elliotborough. Ansonborough does not look like Radcliffeborough. The full-time mix shifts dramatically depending on which block you are standing on.

Before getting into that texture, it helps to understand why the full-time share is as high as it is. Two forces are doing most of the work. Most out-of-state buyers do not know about either one.

The 4 percent tax rate strongly rewards living here full-time

South Carolina assesses primary residences at a 4 percent ratio and assesses everything else at 6 percent. That includes second homes, vacation properties, and investment rentals.

The two-point spread sounds small. It is not.

The 4 percent rate also unlocks the school operating tax credit, which the 6 percent rate does not get. Combined, the difference between a 4 percent bill and a 6 percent bill on the same property typically runs roughly three times higher for the non-primary owner. On a $2 million home, which is on the lower end of South of Broad pricing right now, the annual tax gap can easily land in the five figures.

To claim the 4 percent rate, you have to file with the Charleston County Assessor and prove the home is your legal primary residence. Voter registration, driver's license, vehicle registration, the works. You can only have one 4 percent property in the state at a time.

Anyone who can live here full-time has a powerful financial reason to make it official. The tax code itself is quietly pushing the peninsula toward year-round occupancy.

Charleston's short-term rental rules require owner-occupancy

Charleston has some of the strictest short-term rental rules in the country, and they are built on top of that same 4 percent tax status.

To get a short-term rental permit on the peninsula, the property has to be your primary residence, verified by the 4 percent Legal Residence exemption. You have to sleep there during guest stays in most cases. You are capped at four adult guests. Whole-house, non-owner-occupied STRs are essentially banned within the city limits.

This is a big deal. In comparable historic markets like Savannah and parts of New Orleans, investors have been able to buy entire homes and run them as vacation rentals, hollowing out year-round neighborhoods. Charleston has chosen not to allow that on the peninsula. A buyer who wants short-term rental income essentially has to commit to living here, which keeps more units in the full-time pool.

The full-time share varies sharply by neighborhood

The peninsula's 65 to 70 percent average hides real variation. Here is how I would describe each area after 18 years of walking these streets.

South of Broad has the heaviest concentration of second-home and seasonal owners on the peninsula. Some of the city's most expensive houses sit on South Battery and lower Meeting Street, and a good number of them are owned by people whose primary home is in New York, Atlanta, and so on. You will feel the rhythm if you spend time here. Quieter streets in July and August, much more life from October through May. There is also a deeply rooted multi-generational local community, especially on the older Tradd Street and Church Street addresses.

Harleston Village and Radcliffeborough lean more full-time, but a portion of the non-primary share is not second homes. It is investor-owned rentals tied to the College of Charleston and MUSC. Long-term tenants, medical residents, corporate rentals. Walk down Wentworth or Pitt Street midweek and the lights are on.

Ansonborough sits in between. It ranks high among the most walkable neighborhoods in Charleston, and that walkability to King Street shopping and the dining on Market draws lock-and-leave buyers who use the home a few weeks a year.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough, up in 29403, runs a much higher full-time share. The Spring Street and Cannon Street corridors have shifted in the last decade toward young professionals, families, and local business owners. The streets feel inhabited at all hours, not just during tourist season. If you want the longer story of how each of these pockets developed, I put together the history of our neighborhoods.

What this means if you are buying on the peninsula

A few practical takeaways for out-of-state buyers.

If you want a street where neighbors know each other and the porch lights are on in August, weight your search toward Harleston Village, Radcliffeborough, Cannonborough-Elliotborough, or the upper edges of Ansonborough.

If you are buying South of Broad and the seasonal rhythm matters to you either way, you love it or you would rather avoid it, ask. Block by block, even house by house, the answer varies. A good agent should be able to tell you who actually lives where. If you want a neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at how South of Broad, Harleston Village, and Ansonborough compare on character and price, this breakdown covers it in detail.

If you are considering a property as a second home, run the 4 percent versus 6 percent tax math before you make an offer. The annual carrying-cost gap is one of the biggest financial surprises out-of-state buyers hit at closing, right alongside flood insurance.

And if you ever want to short-term rent the property, even part of the year, understand that the city has structured the rules so that you have to live there too. That is a feature, not a bug, for everyone who calls the peninsula home year round.

Frequently asked questions about full-time residency on the Charleston peninsula

What percentage of downtown Charleston homes are second homes

Roughly 30 to 35 percent of homes on the Charleston peninsula are not full-time primary residences. That share includes seasonal-use second homes, properties owned by investors and used as long-term rentals, and normal turnover vacancies between tenants. The percentage varies a lot by neighborhood, with South of Broad running the highest second-home concentration and 29403 neighborhoods like Cannonborough-Elliottborough running the lowest.

Can I run an Airbnb in downtown Charleston without living there

No. Charleston requires anyone operating a short-term rental on the peninsula to live in the property as their primary residence, verified through the 4 percent Legal Residence tax exemption. Whole-house, non-owner-occupied short-term rentals are not permitted within the city limits. That rule is one of the main reasons the peninsula has retained so much of its full-time residential character.

Which downtown Charleston neighborhood has the most full-time residents

Cannonborough-Elliottborough, along with the rest of 29403 north of Calhoun Street, has the highest concentration of full-time residents on the peninsula. Harleston Village and Radcliffeborough also run high on year-round occupancy, though a meaningful share there is long-term renters tied to the College of Charleston and MUSC rather than owner-occupants.

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If you are thinking about a move to the peninsula, or you just have a question about a specific block or building, call or text me directly at 843-754-2089. I have lived and worked downtown since 2008 and I am always happy to give you a straight answer. You can also find me at walshchs.com.

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