Charleston, SC business phone guide

About the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area

The Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area covers 3 counties in South Carolina and had 870,000 residents in July 2024, up 8.8% since April 2020. The U.S. population grew 2.6% over the same period. Charleston County, SC is the most populous, with 431,000 people. By population it ranks 71st of the 925 metro and micropolitan areas and 60th by business establishments.

Establishments and employment in Charleston, SC

County Business Patterns counted 22,892 establishments in the area in 2023, employing 321,692 people in mid-March with $18.9 billion in annual payroll. That is an average of 14.1 employees per establishment. 55.3% of establishments with employees had fewer than five people. By establishment count, the largest sectors are professional, scientific, and technical services (3,015), retail trade (2,964), and construction (2,367).

Business density and team size in Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC has 26.3 business establishments per 1,000 residents, 7.0% above the U.S. figure of 24.6. Establishments average 14.1 employees against 16.7 nationally, and payroll per employee is $58,757 (14.0% below the U.S. $68,342). 55.3% of establishments with employees have fewer than five people (U.S.: 55.5%), while 4.9% have 50 or more. Because a handful of large employers lift the average, the share of very small establishments says more about who buys a small-business phone system.

Small-business industries in Charleston, SC

Of the 141 industries these guides cover, 140 have a published Census count in Charleston, SC. The largest are full-service restaurants (879), offices of real estate agents and brokers (832), and limited-service restaurants (669). Relative to population, other personal and household goods repair shops are the most over-represented: 8.7 per 100,000 residents against 3.4 nationally.

Phone numbers in the Charleston, SC area

The area's named cities and towns have 330 NANPA-assigned exchanges across 2 area codes; 843 has the most (81%). A local number in the code your customers know is the simplest signal that you are nearby; Callata's plan includes up to 3.

Local numbers by city

Pages for 11 cities and towns in the area list their area codes, prefixes and carriers.

Phone costs for a typical Charleston, SC business

The comparison below uses 14 users, the rounded average establishment size in Charleston, SC. At list prices checked September 28, 2026, that is $349.30 a month on Ooma Office Pro and $420.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core. On Callata the same 14 people cost $279.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

Callata in Charleston, SC

Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.

If you already have a number in Charleston, SC, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.