North Charleston, Hanahan, Goose Creek and Charleston side by side: city tax rates, high school ratings, August 2026 home values, income and commute.

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the Berkeley County Auditor’s millage table, the Charleston County Auditor’s 2025 millage levy (PDF), the South Carolina school report cards, Zillow Research, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey and the four cities’ own websites, linked below.

North Charleston’s three nearest neighbors that are incorporated cities are Hanahan, about four miles away, Goose Creek, about six miles, and Charleston, about eight miles, measured between the Census Bureau’s center points for each place. (Ladson, nearer than Charleston, is a Census-designated place with no city government.) Hanahan and Goose Creek are in Berkeley County; Charleston and North Charleston are mostly in Charleston County, and both also reach into Berkeley County. The four differ in their city tax rates, school districts, home values and who provides services. Every figure below is from an official or published source, for the same year or month in all four places. This page does not rank them.

Property taxes

South Carolina rates are set in mills: one mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. A home you own and live in can be assessed at 4% of its value instead of 6% if you apply; see our property tax guide.

All four cities appear in the Berkeley County Auditor’s millage table for 2026-27 (revised Sept. 18, 2026), because each has land in Berkeley County. That gives one source and one year for the city levies:

City City mills, 2026-27 Total mills in Berkeley County Fee on the tax bill
North Charleston 91.5 338.0 none listed
Hanahan 79 325.5 none listed
Goose Creek 60 306.5 $195 sanitation fee
Charleston 82 328.5 none listed

The Berkeley County totals include 246.5 county and school mills that every Berkeley County property pays. Most homes in North Charleston and Charleston are in Charleston County instead, where the Auditor’s 2025 levy (PDF), the latest posted, sets 216.1 countywide mills. With the city levy, that was 307.6 mills in North Charleston’s main tax district and 298.1 in the city of Charleston, whose 82 city mills include 4 for drainage and 5.5 for public safety infrastructure. The Dorchester County part of North Charleston pays Dorchester County’s rates.

Bar chart of city property tax rates for 2026-27 in mills: North Charleston 91.5, Hanahan 79, Goose Creek 60 and Charleston 82. County and school mills are added on top.

Homestead exemption. South Carolina’s homestead exemption takes the first $50,000 of a home’s value off the tax for owners who are 65 or older, totally and permanently disabled or legally blind, in all four cities; you apply through your county auditor. None of the four cities publishes a separate city exemption that we found.

High schools and their state ratings

Each county’s district assigns schools by address, not by city. These are the zoned high schools whose 2025 state report card gives an address in each city, with the overall rating and the 2025 graduation rate from the state’s report card data.

City District High school 2025 rating Graduation rate
North Charleston Charleston County North Charleston High Below Average 79.1%
North Charleston Charleston County R.B. Stall High Below Average 77.8%
North Charleston Dorchester Two Fort Dorchester High Excellent 94.8%
Hanahan Berkeley County Hanahan High Good 89.0%
Goose Creek Berkeley County Goose Creek High Average 83.8%
Goose Creek Berkeley County Stratford High Average 82.0%
Charleston Charleston County Burke High Below Average 78.6%
Charleston Charleston County West Ashley High Excellent 91.2%
Charleston Berkeley County Philip Simmons High Excellent 91.4%

Magnet and charter high schools, including Academic Magnet High and the Charleston School of the Arts in North Charleston, take students by application and are left out of the table. More in our schools guide and neighborhoods guide.

Home values

The Zillow Home Value Index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price.

City August 2026 August 2025 Change
North Charleston $310,134 $314,506 down 1.4%
Hanahan $411,423 $411,529 little changed
Goose Creek $321,691 $322,148 down 0.1%
Charleston $591,821 $584,184 up 1.3%

Bar chart of the Zillow Home Value Index in August 2026: North Charleston $310,134, Hanahan $411,423, Goose Creek $321,691 and Charleston $591,821.

Population, income and commute

From the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the same vintage for all four, as shown on each city’s QuickFacts page:

City Population Median household income Median home value Mean travel time to work
North Charleston 119,913 $62,956 $302,200 24.5 minutes
Hanahan 21,452 $87,984 $374,800 23.9 minutes
Goose Creek 48,078 $88,178 $306,000 26.7 minutes
Charleston 154,338 $92,414 $509,700 24.2 minutes

The Census median home value is what owners estimate their homes are worth, averaged over five years, so it differs from Zillow’s index.

Who provides city services

City Police Fire Trash pickup
North Charleston North Charleston Police Department North Charleston Fire Department City sanitation
Hanahan Hanahan Police Department Hanahan Fire Department City public works
Goose Creek Goose Creek Police Department City Fire/EMS Department City sanitation
Charleston Charleston Police Department Charleston Fire Department Environmental Services

Homes in unincorporated pockets next to each city are served by the county instead. See our trash and recycling guide and who to call at City Hall.

How to check an address

Frequently asked questions

Which city has the lowest city tax rate: North Charleston, Hanahan, Goose Creek or Charleston?

In Berkeley County’s 2026-27 millage table, the city levies are 60 mills in Goose Creek, 79 in Hanahan, 82 in Charleston and 91.5 in North Charleston. County and school mills are added on top and differ by county.

What is the typical home value in North Charleston compared with Hanahan and Goose Creek?

In August 2026 the Zillow Home Value Index was $310,134 in North Charleston, $411,423 in Hanahan, $321,691 in Goose Creek and $591,821 in Charleston.

Are North Charleston and Hanahan in the same school district?

No. Most of North Charleston is served by Charleston County School District, and its Dorchester County part by Dorchester School District Two. Hanahan and Goose Creek are in Berkeley County School District. Charleston is mostly in Charleston County School District.

How long is the commute from North Charleston?

The mean travel time to work was 24.5 minutes for North Charleston residents in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, against 23.9 in Hanahan, 26.7 in Goose Creek and 24.2 in Charleston.