Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · South Carolina

Dentists and orthodontists in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area

How the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for dentists and orthodontists: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #285 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina

Listings
468
74 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
338
+5.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$401M
On medical and dental services · $1,194 a household
Spending per listing
$857K
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.9
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
889,263
+10.7% since 2020

See the dentists and orthodontists around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area

The site report maps the dentists and orthodontists on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 468 dentists and orthodontists in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Chain locations make up 16% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 13.9 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 13.1.

Households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area spend about $401M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,194 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That works out to $857K per practice, 13% below the U.S. figure of $984K. That spending covers all medical and dental services, which dentists and orthodontists share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 338 businesses with payroll classed as offices of dentists in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area in 2023, up 5.6% from 2019. That is one for every 994 households, against one for every 952 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 21 SBA-backed loans worth $7M have gone to businesses classed as offices of dentists in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.

Population estimates show the Charleston-North Charleston metro area grew 10.7% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 39 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for dentists and orthodontists, ranking #285 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.

How the Charleston-North Charleston metro area compares

The same measures for South Carolina and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the dentists and orthodontists counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Dentists and orthodontists in Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCharleston-North Charleston metro areaSouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.911.413.1
Spending per listing$857K$951K$984K
Households per official establishment9941,205952
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.6%+3.7%−0.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.7%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,194$1,086$1,288
Median household income$85,254$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score3949

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
338+5.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,751
Annual payroll, 2023
$176.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
46874 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
408The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
21
Amount
$7M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of dentists in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
889,263+10.7% since 2020
Households
335,865
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
2,590 sq. mi.
People per square mile
322
Median household income
$85,254+33.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$118,282
Median home value
$377,500
Jobs located here
390,960
Daytime population
849,978Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the dentists and orthodontists on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Dentists and orthodontists across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for dentists and orthodontists, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Charleston-North Charleston metro area marked.

Top metro areas in South Carolina

Metro areas in South Carolina ranked for dentists and orthodontists by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC691428.9$1.2M+20.9%#61 of 387
2Spartanburg, SC6014410.1$1M+14.3%#121 of 387
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC5225110.8$1M+4.7%#179 of 387
3Florence, SC47698.8$1.1M+0.9%#205 of 387
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC401,47213.7$877K+10.1%#275 of 387
4Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC4013213.8$868K+12.0%#277 of 387
5Charleston-North Charleston, SC3946813.9$857K+10.7%#285 of 387
6Columbia, SC3741512.2$883K+6.0%#303 of 387
7Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC3750013.0$842K+9.0%#305 of 387
8Sumter, SC364310.5$942K−0.3%#310 of 387

Other business types in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many dentists and orthodontists are in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?

There are 468 dentists and orthodontists on map listings in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area as of September 2026. 74 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count dental practices, orthodontists included. Official counts show 338 businesses with payroll classed as offices of dentists in 2023, up 5.6% from 2019.

How much do households in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $401M a year, or $1,194 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 468 dentists and orthodontists on map listings, it comes to $857K per practice. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only dentists and orthodontists. It is estimated from the incomes of the 335,865 households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for dentists and orthodontists?

The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 13.9 dentists and orthodontists per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 13.1. Spending per practice is $857K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $984K. At the national ratio of dentists and orthodontists to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 408, against 468 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 994 households, against one for every 952 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.6% from 2019 to 2023, against −0.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Charleston-North Charleston metro area at 889,263 people in 2025, up 10.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,865 households. The median household income in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area is $85,254 a year, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.9% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 39 for dentists and orthodontists (lower middle), #285 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. It maps the dentists and orthodontists on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for dentists and orthodontists · All 56 business types in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.