Growth is putting pressure on the Charleston region, particularly when it comes to infrastructure, housing and affordability.

But Lowcountry voters aren’t necessarily looking to slow it down.

The inaugural Lowcountry Pulse poll from the Charleston Metro Chamber found that voters are more likely to favor investing in the region’s needs than limiting growth.

Lowcountry Pulse surveyed likely voters across Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties to better understand how they view issues affecting the region’s economy, business community and quality of life.

Invest in the Region We’re Becoming

When asked how the Lowcountry should manage growth, 59% chose investing in infrastructure, compared with 36.5% who favored limiting growth.

More than three-quarters of voters said infrastructure investment is very important to managing growth, while nearly 80% said the same about drainage and flood resilience. 71.7% also support Lowcountry Rapid Transit.

The findings show strong support for investing in the infrastructure needed to keep pace with the region’s growth.

“Lowcountry Pulse allows us to hear directly from voters and understand what they really think, beyond the most visible voices,” said Kevin Sheilley, President and CEO of the Charleston Metro Chamber. “Voters want to manage the impacts of growth through targeted investments that protect and improve their quality of life.”

Voters Want Growth to Help Pay for Regional Needs

How to pay for those investments also produced a clear preference.

70.7% of voters prefer attracting new jobs and businesses to help fund public services and infrastructure, compared with just 9.7% who favor raising taxes.

Meanwhile, 86.1% support clear and predictable timelines for permitting and development review. And 55.3% agree growth is creating good jobs for people who already live here, compared with 36.8% who disagree.

Affordability Remains a Concern

Infrastructure may be central to managing growth, but voters are also feeling its effects closer to home.

Housing ranked as voters’ top affordability concern, and the issue is especially pronounced among younger voters. 48.3% of voters ages 18 to 34 said housing is their biggest affordability concern.

Childcare and job opportunities are also part of the picture. 72% support policies to expand access to affordable, high-quality childcare, while 38.6% say good job opportunities exist in their communities but more are needed.

For a growing region, those issues have a direct impact on the people and workforce needed to support its economy.

A New Look at What Lowcountry Voters Think

Lowcountry Pulse gives the Chamber a new way to hear directly from voters across the three-county region and bring that perspective into discussions about the Lowcountry’s future.

“Together, these findings show a clear demand for targeted investments that address our region’s quality-of-life and affordability challenges, with economic growth helping to pay for them,” Sheilley said.

Lowcountry Pulse will continue to track voter opinions on issues affecting the region’s economy, business community and quality of life.

The inaugural poll surveyed 800 likely general election voters across Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties and was conducted for the Charleston Metro Chamber by First Tuesday Strategies. The margin of sampling error is approximately plus or minus 3.46 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Thank You to Our Lowcountry Pulse Investors

Lowcountry Pulse is made possible through the support of our investors, ATI, Burr Forman, Reveer Group and Trident United Way, whose support helps bring voter perspectives into the conversations shaping the future of the Charleston region.