Metro · Density Score
Charleston, SC
Metro area in South Carolina
44 Combined score #53 of 109 metros
- Economic
- 40 #72 of 109
- Innovation (Startup & VC)
- 47 #40 of 109
Charleston ranks #53 overall, #40 in Startup & VC and #72 in Economy among 109 U.S. metros.
Highlights
- #22 of 109: 1.7 early-stage rounds per year per 100k people
- #34 of 109: +195 net migration of 25–44 year olds per 100k people
- #37 of 102: 0.22 startup exits per year per 100k people
The inputs
Ranks are among the metros with data for each input; higher is better.
- Venture capital per year, per 100k people
- $6.3M #57 of 109
- Early-stage rounds per year, per 100k people
- 1.7 #22 of 109
- Series B+ rounds per year, per 100k people
- 0.04 #66 of 109
- Startup exits per year, per 100k people
- 0.22 #37 of 102
- GDP per person
- $80K #59 of 109
- Patents per 100k people
- 16 #78 of 103
- STEM degrees per 100k people
- 94 #83 of 109
- Tech share of jobs
- 3.0% #44 of 109
- Net migration of 25–44 year olds, per 100k people
- +195 #34 of 109
Top companies
The largest companies headquartered in this metro, by latest annual revenue.
- Ingevity Corporation $1.2B
- Blackbaud Inc. $1.1B
Roots Density Data, All Companies (public: SEC filings; private: Forbes Top Private Companies 2025). Ranked by latest annual revenue.
