Charleston County
South Carolina · FIPS 45019
According to CFPB HMDA 2024 application volume among U.S. counties, Charleston County ranks #142 of 3,210, and #3 of 46 in South Carolina.
Mortgage lending activity in Charleston County, South Carolina based on lender filings under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Data covers all applications received by HMDA-reporting institutions operating in this county during 2024. Why mortgages get denied walks the denial-reason codes that appear in books like this one.
Local mortgage market. Charleston County, South Carolina saw 19,717 HMDA-reported mortgage applications in 2024. Lenders originated 10,371 of those loans and denied 2,976, producing a denial rate of 15.1% and an approval (origination) rate of 52.6%. The average loan amount was $496,594 at an average note rate of 7.09%, with applicants self-reporting average annual income of $37K. 490 distinct institutions reported mortgage activity in this county.
Borrower leverage and affordability signal. The loan-to-income ratio averages 13.4x, meaning typical borrowers took on mortgages of about 13.4 times their annual income. That ratio is a rough affordability signal: higher multiples imply tighter monthly budgets and greater exposure to rate or income shocks. See our methodology for how to read the denial rate against a local applicant pool. This page is informational data reporting, not financial, legal, or mortgage advice.
Lender concentration in Charleston County
In Charleston County, lead originator First Ciitizens Bank and Trust funded only 5.5% of 10,371 originated loans, below the county fleet's lower tercile (~10.9% top-1 share). The top three reporters together hold 14.8% of the book, so shopping across channels still meets many active filers.
Counties With Similar Application Volume
Nationwide counties nearest to Charleston County's 19,717 HMDA applications.
Counties With a Similar Average Loan
Nationwide counties nearest to Charleston County's $496,594 average loan (deduped against volume peers).
Lenders active in Charleston County
First Ciitizens Bank and Trust funded 572 of the 10,371 loans originated in Charleston County, 5.5% of the county. 490 lenders reported activity here.
| # | Lender | Originated | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Ciitizens Bank and Trust | 572 | 5.5% |
| 2 | Rocket Mortgage | 521 | 5.0% |
| 3 | SouthState Bank, N.A. | 447 | 4.3% |
| 4 | United Wholesale Mortgage | 441 | 4.3% |
| 5 | South Carolina Federal Credit | 387 | 3.7% |
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) 2024. County FIPS codes per U.S. Census Bureau standards.
Data from FFIEC / CFPB HMDA Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset (2024). Provided for informational purposes only; does not constitute financial advice for Charleston County borrowers.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Every figure on PlainLender is rendered directly from CFPB HMDA federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This Charleston County page draws directly on CFPB HMDA federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-10. HMDA figures are lender-filed application outcomes for a published reporting year - not creditworthiness scores, rate quotes, Loan Estimates, underwriting decisions, or mortgage advice.