Best In South Carolina Real Estate™: Charleston

ZIP 29401 leads South Carolina in affordability gap—11.7x the median income to buy a home. This is not a statewide trend but a spatial one, concentrated in Charleston’s most desirable ZIPs. The data shows that affordability is not a regional problem but a ZIP-code-specific one, where wealth is increasingly tied to location. This reflects a deeper structural shift: real estate is no longer just housing—it’s a non-reversible wealth vehicle for a select few. The source: ALEX Intelligence, October 21, 2026. https://alex-companies.com/data/2026-10-21-charleston-sc-spread-value-to-income-zcta Top-to-Median Affordability Gap, top 10 (ALEX Intelligence — U.S. Census Bureau 2024) #1 ZIP 29401 — 11.7x #2 ZIP 29451 — 10.1x #3 ZIP 29403 — 10.1x #4 ZIP 29438 — 7.4x #5 ZIP 29449 — 7.2x #6 ZIP 29492 — 7.2x #7 ZIP 29464 — 6.7x #8 ZIP 29466 — 5.5x #9 ZIP 29405 — 5.4x #10 ZIP 29407 — 5.3x Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Slide 1: Ted Kerwin (CC BY 2.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=97596370; Slide 2: Scott Cameron (CC BY 3.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=50612249; Slide 3: ProfReader (CC BY-SA 4.0) https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=92753431; Slide 4: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region (Public domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=45487081 Source: https://alex-companies.com/data/2026-10-21-charleston-sc-spread-value-to-income-zcta View and join any or all of our communities — AI, quantum, and real estate: https://alex-companies.com/reports/linkedin-groups If there's an AI, quantum, or real estate community you'd like to see us convene, tell us — this portfolio grows by request. Real Estate Strategy & Intelligence Leader. Democratized Blue Ocean Strategist & Operator. Diane Hart Alexander, MBA, MHA Chair & CEO, ALEX Companies Designated Broker, Alexander Tiffany Southwest, LLC dba ALEX.realestate, et.al. Texas License #574877-B · Broker License #565194-BB [email protected] · +1 713.591.9902