Low Income Apartments and Affordable Housing For Rent in Charleston County, SC

Discover affordable housing in Charleston County where there are 52+ housing opportunities based on income and household needs like accessible units for seniors or persons with disabilities. Find and apply to these low income apartments now.

Nunan Street Apartments

19 Nunan St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

Charleston King Street Apartments

676 King St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

Mary and South Street Apartments

38 Mary St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

Reid Street

44 Reid St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

M98 Charlaffrd America and Amherst Rh

36 Amherst St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

Sc Model Phase I

48 America St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

Osprey Pointe Apartments

2381 Baker Hospital Blvd, Charleston, South Carolina 29405

Cannon Street Apartments

188 Saint Philip St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

3 Hamden Street

3 Hampden Ct, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

21 Amherst Street

21 Amherst St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

M04 Humanhsg Rh

Humanities Housing, Charleston, South Carolina 29492

America Street Project

40 America St, Charleston, South Carolina 29403

The Hourly Wage Needed to Afford A Safe, Modest 2 Bed Apartment In Charleston County, South Carolina
$30.28/hour
$23.03 (+318%) more than South Carolina minimum wage and $23.03 (+318%) more than the Federal minimum wage.
Learn More About Charleston County, South Carolina Affordable Housing ↓

What HUD offices serve Charleston County, South Carolina?

Public Housing Agencies operate federally assisted affordable housing programs at local levels on behalf of HUD. Notably, housing agencies are responsible for managing Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Public Housing, and Project-Based Voucher waiting lists within their jurisdiction.

Operates the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), Public Housing, Family Self-Sufficiency programs for Charleston County, South Carolina.

Go to the South Carolina Public Housing and Low-Income Apartments Waiting Lists page for openings near Charleston County.

How many renters live in Charleston County, South Carolina?

The County of Charleston County has 419,279 people living in 179,597 households.

There are 132,385 renters living in 65,758 renter households in this County. Renters make up 31.57 percent of the population living in Charleston County.

What is the rental market like in Charleston County, South Carolina?

There are an estimated 209,599 housing units in the Charleston County area. Of these, 74,612 units are rental homes, making up 36 percent of the housing market. For every renter household in Charleston County, South Carolina, there are 1 rental units.

What is the vacancy rate for rentals in Charleston County?

The rental vacancy rate in Charleston County is 10 percent. This is a higher than average vacancy rate. When rental vacancy rates are high it means that there are a lot of available units and rents tend to be lower.

How many rental units are in Charleston County for each bedroom size?

Occupied Rental Units by Size in Charleston County
Studio One-Bedroom Two-Bedroom Three-Bedroom Four+ Bedrooms
2,227 17,427 27,859 14,429 3,446
Occupied Rental Units by Size in Charleston County

A large number of apartments in Charleston County have two or fewer bedrooms. Seniors and young professionals especially may have more success finding an apartment that meets their needs.

How many renter households in Charleston County are overburdened by housing costs?

Among renter households in this market, 50 percent have housing cost burden. Further, 27 percent of households are extremely rent overburdened. When renters pay too much for their housing, it leaves little money for other necessities like food, clothes, or medicine.

The federal government says that renters are cost-burdened if they pay more than a third of their monthly income for rent and utilities.

How Much Is Rent in Charleston County

Depending on size, the Fair Market Rent - HUDs measurement of the cost of an average housing unit - ranges from $1,386 to $2,402. FMRs are updated annually by HUD for every city and county nationwide.

Bed Size 2024 Fair Market Rents
Studio $1,386
One BR $1,424
Two BR $1,599
Three BR $1,979
Four BR $2,402
2024 Fair Market Rents in Charleston County, South Carolina

How many units are rented at Fair Market Rent (FMR) in Charleston County?

Renters with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher must select a home that is at or below the area’s Fair Market Rent. Markets with a large share of units above FMR tend to have longer search times to find a qualified unit, while those with a large share of units below FMR tend to have more choices and shorter search times. The share below FMR can vary by size of unit, as shown in the table below.

These are the approximate number of units renting below the FMR in this market:

Unit Size Count of Units Below FMR Percentage of Total Units Below FMR
Studio 1,249 56 percent
One BR 10,699 61 percent
Two BR 14,697 53 percent
Rental Units Below FMR in Charleston County, South Carolina

How many affordable rental units are in Charleston County?

There are a variety of federal affordable housing programs serving households in Charleston County, South Carolina including the following:

Federal Program Unit Count
Low Income Housing Tax Credit 3,553
Public Housing 1,763
Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance 1,362
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly 148
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities 8
Tracked Units by Federal Program in Charleston County, South Carolina

Rental units may be funded in part by multiple federal programs.

Income Based Apartments in Charleston County, South Carolina

Charleston County features 2,590 income based apartments. Tenants of income based apartments typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent and utilities.

Low Rent Apartments in Charleston County, South Carolina

There are 1,350 rent subsidized apartments that do not provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Charleston County.

Housing Choice Vouchers in Charleston County, South Carolina

On average, Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers pay Charleston County landlords $600 per month towards rent. The average voucher holder contributes $300 towards rent in Charleston County.

The maximum amount a voucher would pay on behalf of a low-income tenant in Charleston County, South Carolina for a two-bedroom apartment is between $1,439 and $1,759.

Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.