WalletHub Ranks Charleston 10th Best College Town
WalletHub's ranking of 415 U.S. cities places Charleston first among South Carolina college towns and 10th nationally.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in College Life
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WalletHub ranked Charleston, South Carolina, as the best college town in the state and 10th best in America. The ranking also placed Columbia, Clemson, North Charleston, and Rock Hill among South Carolina's college towns.
Why it matters
The ranking evaluates cities on wallet friendliness, social environment, and academic and economic opportunities, giving students and families a comparative measure for Charleston and other state college towns. Charleston's position reflects a strong social environment alongside a lower rank for wallet friendliness.
Charleston ranked 10th nationally among college towns and 10th for social environment, while placing 225th for wallet friendliness and 101st for academic and economic opportunities. The source does not explain how the three dimension scores were weighted in the overall ranking.
The players
WalletHub
WalletHub is a personal finance website that publishes comparative rankings of U.S. cities and financial products.
The details
WalletHub analyzed 415 cities across three dimensions: wallet friendliness, social environment, and academic and economic opportunities. Cities were grouped by size, and Charleston ranked 2nd among midsized cities for college students, behind Scottsdale, Arizona.
Timeline
WalletHub's college town ranking was reported on November 2, 2026.
Culture Shift
WalletHub's three-dimension methodology weighs social environment alongside cost and academic opportunity, which shapes how college towns like Charleston are compared nationally. Charleston's 10th national placement reflects a ranking system that values social life as much as affordability.
Prospective students weighing Charleston against other South Carolina colleges can use the ranking's social environment and wallet friendliness scores to compare daily costs and campus life. Charleston's 225th wallet friendliness rank suggests living costs may be a factor to plan for.
The takeaway
Students comparing college towns should look beyond a single overall rank and weigh the specific dimensions that matter most to them, such as cost of living or campus social life. A city that ranks high on one measure may rank lower on another.
Further reading
Explore more on College Life in Charleston and across South Carolina.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Island Packet.
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