AreaProfile

29404North Charleston, South Carolina

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 29404.

53
Area Score
Bottom 19% of 3,833 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 16% of 4,073 published ZIP areas73
GrowthTop 23% of 3,947 published ZIP areas65
Housing affordability4537th of 4,553 published ZIP areas8
ClimateTop 25% of 4,621 published ZIP areas77
Physical resilience3325th of 4,554 published ZIP areas33
Access4496th of 4,623 published ZIP areas49
Economic stabilityTop 25% of 4,591 published ZIP areas72
The quick read

29404 ranks in the top 16% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.8% and median household income of $54,716.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,004 units authorized over the past twelve months, 34% below the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by hurricane, earthquake and coastal flooding.

At a glance

Population
2,334
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$54,716
Bottom 21% nationally
Density
462/sq mi
5.1 sq mi of land
Median age
21.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
North Charleston
South Carolina
Metro area
Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Nearest major airport
MYR
84 mi · Myrtle Beach Intl
Median home value

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8% is lower than 78% of the 4,387 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 2.1% over the past year, to 67,056 employed residents.

36% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 75% of measured US ZIP areas.

Median household income of $54,716 is below 79% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$16,078$54,716Bottom 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,633$26,341Bottom 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate7.4%Bottom 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute11.1 minBottom 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher36.4%Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment67,056Top 36%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)8.7%Top 1%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.1%Top 4%June 2026
Labor force69,717Top 37%June 2026
Labor force participation82.4%Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$64,260Bottom 34%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,150Bottom 40%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.2%Bottom 37%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.8%Bottom 22%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202475k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $54,716 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Charleston-North Charleston, SC
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons11,930$34,090
Fast Food and Counter Workers10,850$28,500
Registered Nurses9,760$92,800
Waiters and Waitresses9,580$19,340
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand8,100$38,090
Cashiers7,960$30,130

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for North Charleston, SC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,939 takes 43% of median household income, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

Rent as a share of income
42.5%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,939
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Homeownership rate0.0%Bottom 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±143676Bottom 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$128$1,939Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income42.5%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.4%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
65/ 100
Top 23% of 3,947 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

At 8.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
1,004
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
8.4
Top 15% nationally
Year over year
−34%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
33.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for North Charleston, SC, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 91°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 52.5 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CHARLESTON INTL AP, 0.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND7.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation52.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high91°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing33°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

33 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, earthquake and coastal flooding.

Coastal floodingHigh
HurricaneHigh
EarthquakeElevated

Low or minimal exposure: ice storm, wildfire, lightning, inland flooding, cold wave, winter weather, heat wave, strong wind, tornado, hail, landslide, drought.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 84 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Myrtle Beach IntlMYR84 mi9,503 ft
Savannah/Hilton Head IntlSAV86 mi9,351 ft
Columbia MetroCAE95 mi8,601 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

29404 vs North Charleston

How this ZIP area compares with North Charleston as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

29404
North Charleston
Median household income
$54,716
vs
$62,956
Per capita income
$26,341
vs
$36,019
Population density
462/sq mi
vs
1,538/sq mi
Median gross rent
$1,939
vs
$1,430
Homeownership rate
0.0%
vs
49.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher
36.4%
vs
28.6%
Poverty rate
7.4%
vs
14.4%
Median age
21.2
vs
34.6

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.