CHARLESTON is now under coverage.
Local dating, modeled. Every signal in Charleston, converted into a tactical roadmap.
Greater Charleston is open as a field office. The headline numbers, each sourced and confidence-flagged:
- $1,900 per month Zumper Rent Research, June 2026
- $44,556 per year Census ACS 5-yr, 2019–2023
- 53% Census ACS 5-yr, 2019–2023
By the numbers
11 sourced, confidence-flagged metrics for Charleston — gender, money, neighborhoods, and political lean. The deep dive, with charts, is in the console below.
- Singles, 22 to 50
151,042
- Gender balance
53%
- Male skew
53%
- Median income
$44,556
- 1-bedroom rent
$1,900
- Living wage
$54,371
- Transit fare
$2
- Rent trend
$1,900
- Most female-leaning zone
48%
- Democratic
52%
- Republican
46%
The shape of the market
Summerville is the most female-leaning zone, at about 48% men to 52% women.
Charleston runs about 53% male, sharpest in Goose Creek (58%) and Mount Pleasant (57%).
How dating actually happens
Only about 14% of matches on curated apps like Hinge turn into a first date.
Roughly 1 in 10 partnered adults met their partner online, and the share climbs sharply for younger and LGB couples.
One in four matches never gets a reply.
53% of online daters say their overall experience has been positive.
Dating safety in Charleston
78% of active dating-app users report burnout: 80% of women (driven by message volume) and 74% of men (driven by a lack of responses).
60% of Americans support requiring a background check before someone can create a dating profile.
An estimated 26% of men have received unsolicited explicit content, far below the rate for women.
56% of women under 50 have been sent unsolicited explicit images while dating online.
48% of online daters have faced at least one form of harassing behavior on a dating platform.
43% of women under 50 say a match kept contacting them after they said no.
52% of online daters say a scammer or bot has contacted them.
63% of men under 50 say a scammer or bot has contacted them, the highest of any group.
11% of women under 50 have been physically threatened on a dating platform.
40% of daters say platforms do a bad job removing fake and bot accounts; only 20% say they do well.
The LGBTQ+ landscape
53% of LGB adults have used a dating app, far more than straight adults.
About 24% of LGB couples met online, roughly three times the straight rate.
About 70% of LGB adults under 30 have used a dating app, the highest-adoption cohort anywhere.
7.6% of U.S. adults now identify as LGBTQ+, up from 3.5% in 2012.
22.3% of adults aged 18 to 34 identify as LGBTQ+.
Political alignment
24% of Americans say they could never date someone who disagrees with them on abortion.
South Carolina doesn’t register voters by party, so we read the 2024 presidential vote: Charleston County backed Harris about 52% to 46% — a city-versus-suburbs purple split that leans Democratic.
Trump still took about 46% of Charleston County, with the red suburbs nearly offsetting the blue peninsula, so it’s a genuinely competitive coastal market.
47% of single daters would not seriously date a Trump voter; among Democratic women that rises to 79%.
69% of Americans would not date someone who is unemployed, rising to 81% of women.
The cost of dating
A single adult in Charleston County needs about $54,400 a year just to cover the basics.
Charleston’s one-bedroom rents are among the highest of any of our markets, pushed up by a tourism-driven coast and tight supply, and still rising modestly.
Americans reported $1.3 billion in romance-scam losses in a single year, a tax on every crowded market.
A CARTA bus fare in Charleston is $2.00 one way.
Neighborhood intelligence
| Neighborhood | Singles | M / F | Income | 1BR rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goose Creek | 11,319 | 58 / 42 | $40,177 | $1,542 |
| Mount Pleasant | 8,493 | 57 / 43 | $60,459 | $2,081 |
| Summerville | 8,209 | 48 / 52 | $42,128 | $1,378 |
| West Ashley | 8,070 | 49 / 51 | $48,943 | $1,431 |
| James Island | 6,785 | 51 / 49 | $52,955 | $1,881 |
| North Charleston | 6,410 | 52 / 48 | $35,205 | $1,253 |
| Johns Island | 4,054 | 50 / 50 | $60,759 | $1,567 |
| Hanahan | 3,555 | 53 / 47 | $48,742 | $1,412 |
| Daniel Island | 3,420 | 55 / 45 | $62,254 | $2,043 |
| Downtown | 2,140 | 48 / 52 | $49,173 | $1,790 |
Local date spots
Real venues across Charleston, scraped from Google Maps and filterable by neighborhood. Ratings and review counts are live Google data — never paid placement.
- Mount Pleasant
Page's Okra Grill
- Downtown
Fleet Landing Restaurant & Raw Bar
- Downtown
Poogan's Porch
- Downtown
Magnolias
- James Island
Charleston Crab House
- Downtown
The Rooftop at the Vendue
- North Charleston
The Tattooed Moose
- North Charleston
Lodi Coffee
- West Ashley
Swig & Swine
- Summerville
Oscar's of Summerville
- North Charleston
LoLA
- Mount Pleasant
Tavern & Table
- Downtown
High Cotton Charleston Restaurant
- Downtown
Prohibition
- Johns Island
Tattooed Moose, Johns Island, SC
- Summerville
Five Loaves Cafe
- Downtown
Slightly North of Broad Restaurant
- Summerville
The Icehouse Restaurant
- North Charleston
Big Billy's Burger Joint
- Downtown
Iron Rose
- Mount Pleasant
Grace & Grit
- Summerville
Montreux Bar & Grill
- West Ashley
The Glass Onion
- North Charleston
DIG In The Park
- Johns Island
Wild Olive Restaurant - Johns Island, SC
- James Island
Bohemian Bull
- West Ashley
Charleston Sports Pub
- Mount Pleasant
The Shelter Kitchen + Bar
- Johns Island
Angel Oak Restaurant and Bar
- Downtown
Kudu - Coffee, Craft Beer & Wine