Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · South Carolina

Medical and dental practices in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for medical and dental practices in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #297 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina

Listings
3,267
491 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
1,354
+8.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$401M
On medical and dental services · $1,194 a household
Spending per listing
$123K
20% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
97.3
15% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
889,263
+10.7% since 2020

See the medical and dental practices around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area

The site report maps the medical and dental practices 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

The Charleston-North Charleston metro area scores 38 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for medical and dental practices, ranking #297 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

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. Spread across 3,267 medical and dental practices, that is $123K per practice, 20% below the U.S. figure of $152K.

The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 3,267 medical and dental practices on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 491 are chain locations, or 15%, against 11% across the U.S. That comes to 97.3 for every 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 84.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,354 businesses with payroll in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers, up 8.2% from 2019. That is one for every 248 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 29 SBA-backed loans worth $11.3M have gone to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +10.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

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 medical and dental practices counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Doctors, dentists and clinics 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 households97.377.884.5
Spending per listing$123K$140K$152K
Households per official establishment248340270
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.2%+5.7%+1.5%
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 score3849

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,354+8.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
13,438
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.1B
One-person businesses, 2023
1,096Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3,267491 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,630The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
29
Amount
$11.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers 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 medical and dental practices 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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Doctors, dentists and clinics across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for medical and dental practices, 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 medical and dental practices by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spartanburg, SC6396267.1$154K+14.3%#96 of 387
2Columbia, SC572,35669.4$156K+6.0%#136 of 387
3Sumter, SC5522254.0$183K−0.3%#148 of 387
4Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC5376179.7$151K+12.0%#168 of 387
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC521,66371.7$151K+4.7%#175 of 387
5Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC491,15272.6$144K+20.9%#199 of 387
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC4510,838100.7$119K+10.1%#233 of 387
6Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC433,82699.7$110K+9.0%#258 of 387
7Charleston-North Charleston, SC383,26797.3$123K+10.7%#297 of 387
8Florence, SC2867786.3$114K+0.9%#351 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 medical and dental practices are in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3,267 medical and dental practices in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. 491 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 1,354 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, up 8.2% from 2019. Official counts list 1,096 one-person businesses without payroll.

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 3,267 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $123K per practice. 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 medical and dental practices?

The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 97.3 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $123K, 20% below the U.S. figure of $152K. At the U.S. ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 2,630, against 3,267 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 248 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% 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 38 for medical and dental practices (lower middle), #297 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 medical and dental practices 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 medical and dental practices · 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.