Elevation of North Charleston
18ft
above sea level · 5 m
North Charleston is a city in South Carolina with 129,245 people, the 3rd most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 22nd lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 32.85° N · 79.97° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 32° 51′ 17″ N · 79° 58′ 29″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 17S · 595,928 E · 3,635,636 N
- Zone 17 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 129,245 people
- 78.0 sq mi of land · 1,657 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from November 2022: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
North Charleston had 129,245 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 12% more than in April 2020, when it had 114,887. Its 78.0 sq mi of land work out to 1,657 people/sq mi; the state average is 185 people/sq mi.
It’s the 3rd most populous of the 475 places the Census counts in South Carolina (cities, towns and CDPs), after Charleston (159,423), and holds 2.3% of the state’s population.
The city spreads across 3 counties. By population: Charleston County (97,111) and Dorchester County (32,134); no one lives in its part of Berkeley County. Its reference point, where we measure the elevation, is in Charleston County.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
North Charleston sits at 18 ft (5 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: North Charleston is 844 ft below it.
The state capital, Columbia, is 100 mi away in a straight line and 281 ft higher than North Charleston.
The nearest city with more than 250,000 people is Charlotte (North Carolina), 171 mi away in a straight line and 745 ft higher.
Of the 3 cities in South Carolina with a page, North Charleston is the 2nd highest. The others are Columbia (299 ft) and Charleston (10 ft).
The highest point in South Carolina is Sassafras Mountain, at 3,560 ft according to the USGS: 3,542 ft above North Charleston, 222 mi away in a straight line.
- 227 North Charleston 18 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of North Charleston.
What is the elevation of North Charleston?
North Charleston is 18 feet (5 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of North Charleston?
Latitude 32.85462 and longitude -79.97481, in decimal degrees (32° 51′ 17″ N · 79° 58′ 29″ W). In UTM, zone 17: 595,928 E and 3,635,636 N, on NAD83.
How does North Charleston rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 22nd lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is North Charleston in?
Several: Charleston County, Dorchester County, and Berkeley County. Most of its people live in Charleston County.
Which is higher, North Charleston or Columbia?
Columbia. North Charleston sits at 18 ft and Columbia at 299 ft: a difference of 281 ft, 100 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know