Home services · Metro area · South Carolina
HVAC and plumbing companies in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area
The HVAC and plumbing companies in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #81 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 242
- 9 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 275
- +3.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1B
- On home repairs, maintenance and insurance · $3,101 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.3M
- 10% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.2
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 889,263
- +10.7% since 2020
See the HVAC and plumbing companies around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area
The site report maps the HVAC and plumbing companies 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.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 242 HVAC and plumbing companies in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Chain locations make up 4% of them, against 4% across the U.S. That comes to 7.2 for every 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 6.3.
At $3,101 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area spend about $1B a year on home repairs, maintenance and insurance. That works out to $4.3M per company, 10% below the U.S. figure of $4.8M. That spending covers all home repairs, maintenance and insurance, which HVAC and plumbing companies share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 275 businesses with payroll in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, up 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,221 households, against one for every 1,162 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Charleston-North Charleston metro area grew 10.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for HVAC and plumbing companies in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area is 64 (upper middle), #81 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
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 home repairs, maintenance and insurance by the HVAC and plumbing companies counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Charleston-North Charleston metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.2 | 6.7 | 6.3 |
| Spending per listing | $4.3M | $4.2M | $4.8M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,221 | 1,257 | 1,162 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.4% | +1.8% | +7.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.7% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on home repairs, maintenance and insurance | $3,101 | $2,802 | $3,018 |
| Median household income | $85,254 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 275+3.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 3,117
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $207.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2429 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 219The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $2.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors 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 HVAC and plumbing companies 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.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardHVAC and plumbing across South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for HVAC and plumbing companies, 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
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 68 | 120 | 5.2 | $5.4M | +4.7% | #58 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 64 | 721 | 6.7 | $4.7M | +10.1% | #79 of 387 |
| 1Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 64 | 242 | 7.2 | $4.3M | +10.7% | #81 of 387 |
| 2Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 56 | 263 | 6.9 | $4.1M | +9.0% | #144 of 387 |
| 3Columbia, SC | 55 | 239 | 7.0 | $4M | +6.0% | #160 of 387 |
| 4Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 54 | 72 | 7.5 | $4.1M | +12.0% | #170 of 387 |
| 5Spartanburg, SC | 49 | 97 | 6.8 | $3.9M | +14.3% | #204 of 387 |
| 6Florence, SC | 39 | 55 | 7.0 | $3.6M | +0.9% | #283 of 387 |
| 7Sumter, SC | 37 | 27 | 6.6 | $3.8M | −0.3% | #294 of 387 |
| 8Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 37 | 139 | 8.8 | $3.1M | +20.9% | #297 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.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
- Home repair trades72
- HVAC and plumbing64
- Electricians80
- Roofing and gutters73
- Lawn, cleaning and pest control57
- Landscaping and lawn care73
- House cleaning54
- Pest control42
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many HVAC and plumbing companies are in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 242 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings as of September 2026. 9 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count heating and air-conditioning companies and plumbers. Official counts show 275 businesses with payroll classed as plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors in 2023, up 3.4% from 2019.
How much do households in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area spend on home repairs, maintenance and insurance?
About $1B a year, or $3,101 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 242 HVAC and plumbing companies on map listings, it comes to $4.3M per company. The spending figure covers all home repairs, maintenance and insurance, not only HVAC and plumbing companies. 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 HVAC and plumbing companies?
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 7.2 HVAC and plumbing companies per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 6.3. Spending per company is $4.3M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $4.8M. At the national ratio of HVAC and plumbing companies to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 219, against 242 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,221 households, against one for every 1,162 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +7.6% 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 64 for HVAC and plumbing companies (upper middle), #81 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 HVAC and plumbing companies 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 HVAC and plumbing companies · 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.