Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · South Carolina

Mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #331 of 373 scored metro areas
#6 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina

Listings
248
55 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
112
+45.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$5.4B
On rent and homeowner costs · $16,063 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
56
44% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.4
72% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
889,263
+10.7% since 2020

See the mortgage brokers and lenders around any address in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area

The site report maps the mortgage brokers and lenders 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 card

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

What this means

For mortgage brokers and lenders, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #331 of 373 scored metro areas and #6 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 248 mortgage brokers and lenders in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area. 55 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 21% across the U.S. That is 7.4 per 10,000 households, 72% above the U.S. rate of 4.3.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area comes to about $5.4B a year: $16,063 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 44% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in the Charleston-North Charleston metro area was 112 in 2023, up 45.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,999 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Charleston-North Charleston metro area grew 10.7% from 2020 to 2025, 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. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Mortgage brokers and lenders 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 households7.44.94.3
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)5678100
Households per official establishment2,9994,5944,897
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+45.5%+25.6%+9.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025+10.7%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$16,063$14,791$16,661
Median household income$85,254$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score3438

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
112+45.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
466
Annual payroll, 2023
$47.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
24855 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
138The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders 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 card

Mortgage brokers and lenders across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for mortgage brokers and lenders, 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 mortgage brokers and lenders by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Spartanburg, SC71342.4153+14.3%#31 of 373
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC57793.4111+4.7%#126 of 373
2Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC40495.181+12.0%#265 of 373
3Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC382035.372+9.0%#284 of 373
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC386916.464+10.1%#286 of 373
4Florence, SC37263.3106+0.9%#290 of 373
5Columbia, SC371985.865+6.0%#302 of 373
6Charleston-North Charleston, SC342487.456+10.7%#331 of 373
7Sumter, SC32153.796−0.3%#343 of 373
8Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC301026.457+20.9%#353 of 373

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 mortgage brokers and lenders are in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area?

The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 248 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings as of September 2026. 55 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Official counts show 112 businesses with payroll classed as mortgage brokers and real estate lenders in 2023, up 45.5% from 2019.

How much do households in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $5.4B a year, or $16,063 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 248 mortgage brokers and lenders on map listings, housing spending per office is 44% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money mortgage brokers and lenders take in. 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 mortgage brokers and lenders?

The Charleston-North Charleston metro area has 7.4 mortgage brokers and lenders per 10,000 households, 72% above the U.S. rate of 4.3. The index of housing spending per office is 56, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of mortgage brokers and lenders to household spending, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area would have about 138, against 248 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,999 households, against one for every 4,897 across the U.S. The official count rose 45.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +9.5% 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 34 for mortgage brokers and lenders (lower middle), #331 of 373 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 mortgage brokers and lenders 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 mortgage brokers and lenders · 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.