Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mount Pleasant grades B+ overall, 21st of 167 graded towns in South Carolina. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 98% of the country. The median household earns $125K and its schools rank ahead of 86% of South Carolina towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $872K, 10.2 years of the Charleston metro’s $85K median household income. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Mount Pleasant, above both the South Carolina town median (23%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Mount Pleasant has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them USS Yorktown (Cv-10) and USS Laffey. Only 15 of South Carolina’s 263 towns score higher on the outdoors.
Where Mount Pleasant beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Mount Pleasant | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 17.4% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Jennie Moore Elementary | PK–5 | 993 |
| Carolina Park Elementary | K–5 | 931 |
| James B. Edwards Elementary | PK–5 | 767 |
USS Yorktown (Cv-10) is one of 3 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 783 in 1880, a low of 783 in 1880, 90,801 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 3 maps from 1943 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Mount Pleasant is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Pleasant. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town MuseumUSS Yorktown
Big draw7 mi MuseumH. L. Hunley
in town MuseumUSS Laffey
3 mi LandmarkFort Moultrie
6 mi LandmarkFort Wagner
5 mi DamThe BatteryUSS Yorktown: David Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · H. L. Hunley: Sepia wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1902, after a painting then held by the Con, Public domain · USS Laffey: U.S. Navy, Public domain · Fort Moultrie: Dima Sergiyenko; Please attribute this image as the work of "DiscoverWithDima.", CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Wagner: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · The Battery: Eagledj, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Pleasant, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant is the healthiest town in South Carolina and fares better on crime within South Carolina than nationally, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
At 10.2 years of the Charleston metro’s $85K median household income, the typical home (about $872K) costs more against local pay than in 99% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Home values rose 46% in five years, to about $872K, against 24% across South Carolina.
The median rent in Mount Pleasant is $2,159 a month. The typical Mount Pleasant home is worth about $872,000, up 1.6% in a year, 3 times the South Carolina typical home.
| Mount Pleasant | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,159 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $872K.
Its public schools are run by the Charleston 01 school district. Three of its 26 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moultrie MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,130 | A |
| Wando HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,588 | A+ |
| Lucy Garrett Beckham HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,757 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
It is the healthiest of the 169 South Carolina towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with South Carolina is food insecurity: 6.7% of its 70,423 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.4% statewide.
27% of Mount Pleasant adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 1 have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Mount Pleasant. 7.8% of Mount Pleasant adults smoke cigarettes.
| Mount Pleasant | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 15% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Mount Pleasant | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.7% | 17.4% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 13.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 23.1% | 15.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $826 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 1,061 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 60 properties have flooded more than once.
Mount Pleasant’s FEMA risk score is 95 of 100. Since 1979, 1,061 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Pleasant.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
38 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Laurel Hill County Park, at 742 acres.
| Mount Pleasant | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.5% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Palmetto Island County Park | 1.5 mi | 127 |
| 2. Fort Palmetto Park | 1 mi | 28 |
| 3. Charles Pinckney National Historic Site | 0.9 mi | 29 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Charleston Intl Ap weather station, 12 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 266 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 40.8°, milder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89.9°.
Mount Pleasant has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Only 3 of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare have a higher January low than Mount Pleasant. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Mount Pleasant | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 41°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mount Pleasant has about as many jobs (38,378) as working residents, but only 10,904 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 23,706 in 2013 to 38,378.
About one in 4 of Mount Pleasant’s working residents works in town. 27% of workers work from home in Mount Pleasant. Since 2013, Mount Pleasant has added 14,672 jobs, to 38,378 in 2023.
| Mount Pleasant | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 8.6% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $125,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 17% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 17 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 90% of South Carolina’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,389 to 1,105 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
6 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Pleasant
About 4 of every 100 Mount Pleasant residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
67,843 counted in 2010 and 90,801 in 2020; an estimated 95,469 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
12 places in Mount Pleasant on the National Register of Historic Places.
14 notable people were born in Mount Pleasant.
Town in South Carolina, United States
Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Lowcountry, it is the fourth-most populous municipality in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growing areas, doubling in population between 1990 and 2000. The population was 90,801 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Charleston metropolitan area. At the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge is Patriots Point, a naval and maritime museum, home to the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, which is now a museum ship. The Ravenel Bridge, an eight-lane highway that is part of U.S. Route 17 and was completed in 2005, spans the Cooper River and links Mount Pleas…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Mount Pleasant.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Pleasant | #21 | B+ | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Charleston | #57 | B− | C− | C− | B+ | A |
| Sullivan's Island | — | — | D− | B+ | A | A+ |
| Awendaw | — | — | C+ | — | A | B |
Sullivan's Island and Awendaw have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Awendaw reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Mount Pleasant with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Mount Pleasant grades B+ overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #21 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
Mount Pleasant was settled in 1875 and has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 14 notable people were born here, including Shelby Rogers and Ben Hollingsworth.
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