Charleston Ranked: Every Major Award the City Holds in 2026
The aggregated, sourced, and dated index of every external ranking Charleston, South Carolina currently holds — across hospitality, dining, livability, real estate, and education.
Charleston is the most-awarded small city in the United States. It has been Condé Nast Traveler's #1 small city for four consecutive years (and has held a top-5 small-city slot for thirty-two years running — the longest streak of any U.S. city in that survey). Southern Living readers have named it the #1 city in the South for ten consecutive years. Travel + Leisure readers held it at #1 in the U.S. for twelve straight years from 2013 to 2024 — the longest #1 run in that magazine's history — before Santa Fe and New Orleans edged it to #3 in 2025.
The pattern repeats outside hospitality. WalletHub's 2026 ranking of best places to raise a family put Charleston eighth nationally. The National Association of Realtors named the metro a top-ten housing hot spot for 2026 in its December 2025 report. U.S. News & World Report has ranked the College of Charleston a top public regional university in the South for ten consecutive years.
This page is the canonical aggregator. Every award below is named, positioned, dated, and linked to its primary source. The page is reviewed monthly; the most recent review was May 2026. For the ranked Charleston lists themselves — restaurants, bars, things to do, coffee, BBQ, and the rest — see the full index of ranked lists.
Charleston's current major rankings, summarized
- Condé Nast Traveler — Readers' Choice Awards — Best Small City in the U.S.
- 4th consecutive year as #1 Small City; 14 of the last 15 years as a top U.S. city; in the top 5 for 32 years running
- #12025
- Southern Living — South's Best Awards — Best City in the South
- 10th consecutive year as Southern Living's #1 city in the South
- #12026
- Travel + Leisure — World's Best Awards — Best Cities in the U.S.
- Held the #1 U.S. city slot for 12 consecutive years (2013–2024) before falling to #3 in 2025 behind Santa Fe and New Orleans
- #32025
- U.S. News & World Report — 2026 Best Colleges — Top Public Regional Universities (South)
- 10th consecutive year as a top public regional university in the South
- #42026
Readers' Choice Awards — Best Small City in the U.S.
The 38th annual Readers' Choice Awards drew more than 757,000 votes worldwide. Charleston took the U.S. Small City crown for a fourth straight year, beating Santa Fe, Alexandria (VA), St. Augustine (FL), San Juan, and Savannah. Kiawah Island also took #2 in the Top Islands in the U.S. category.
- Top hotels in Charleston named: The Charleston Place, The Dewberry, Elliott House Inn, Hotel Bennett, The Lindy, The Loutrel, The Mills House, The Ryder Hotel, Wentworth Mansion, and Zero George.
- Top Resorts in the South named in the region: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort (Mount Pleasant), and Wild Dunes Resort (Isle of Palms).
- The Post and Courier reports Charleston has now placed in Condé Nast's top 5 small-city ranking for 32 consecutive years — the longest streak of any U.S. city in the survey.
South's Best Awards — Best City in the South
Southern Living readers named Charleston the No. 1 destination in the South for the tenth year in a row, citing the waterfront views, preserved historic core, and nationally recognized food scene. The 2026 awards also recognized Charleston-area beaches, hotels, resorts, and a dozen restaurants across the city.
- Top Beach Getaways in the South included all four Charleston-area beaches: Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, and Sullivan's Island.
- The Charleston Place was named a top Classic Hotel in the South; the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort was named a top Resort.
- Lewis Barbecue was named the top barbecue restaurant in South Carolina.
- FIG, Fleet Landing, and Page's Okra Grill were named Classic Restaurants of the South.
- Poogan's Porch, Hyman's Seafood, and 82 Queen were named Legendary Restaurants of the South.
World's Best Awards — Best Cities in the U.S.
Travel + Leisure's annual World's Best Awards reader survey has placed Charleston at or near the top of its U.S. cities list for over a decade. Charleston's twelve-year run as #1 (the longest of any U.S. city in the survey's history) ended in 2025, when Santa Fe and New Orleans edged ahead. The city remains a fixture in the global top 20.
- The 12-year streak (2013 through 2024) is the longest #1 run by any U.S. city in the World's Best Awards' history.
- Charleston has been the #1 U.S. city in 12 of the last 13 World's Best Awards surveys.
2026 Best & Worst Places to Raise a Family
WalletHub's 2026 study compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 45 metrics — family fun, health & safety, education, affordability, and socioeconomics — and placed Charleston #8 overall.
- Charleston ranks in the national top 10 across the composite score of all 45 metrics.
- The methodology weights school quality, child-care affordability, parks per capita, and crime rates.
Top 10 Housing Hot Spots for 2026
NAR's 2026 housing hot spots report — released in December 2025 — placed the Charleston–North Charleston metro in the top 10 nationally, citing population growth, job gains, and a younger-than-average buyer pool.
- The report weights affordability relative to local incomes, inventory pipeline, and migration patterns.
2026 Best Colleges — Top Public Regional Universities (South)
The 2026 edition of U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges ranked the College of Charleston #4 among Top Public Schools — Regional Universities (South). The College has held a top-tier slot for ten consecutive years.
- The College of Charleston also ranked #1 in South Carolina among regional universities.
Charleston-area beaches — all four ranked
Southern Living's 2026 South's Best Awards named all four Charleston-area beaches as Top Beach Getaways. Kiawah Island also took #2 in Condé Nast's 2025 Top Islands in the U.S. category — the only Charleston-area destination to place separately in that list.
| Beach | Award |
|---|---|
| Isle of Palms | Top Beach Getaway — Southern Living 2026 |
| Folly Beach | Top Beach Getaway — Southern Living 2026 |
| Kiawah Island | Top Beach Getaway — Southern Living 2026; #2 Top Island in U.S. — Condé Nast 2025 |
| Sullivan's Island | Top Beach Getaway — Southern Living 2026 |
Charleston hotels named in 2025–26 awards
The 2025 Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards named ten Charleston hotels as among the best in the city. The Charleston Place was also named a Top Classic Hotel of the South by Southern Living in 2026 — the only property to win in both surveys this cycle.
| Hotel | Award |
|---|---|
| The Charleston Place | Top Classic Hotel — Southern Living 2026; Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| The Dewberry | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| Hotel Bennett | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| Wentworth Mansion | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| Zero George | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| The Loutrel | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| The Mills House, Curio Collection by Hilton | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| The Ryder Hotel | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| Elliott House Inn | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
| The Lindy Renaissance Charleston Hotel | Top Hotel — Condé Nast 2025 |
For the full ranked list with availability and rates, see the best hotels in Charleston (2026).
Charleston-area resorts named in 2025–26 awards
| Resort | Award |
|---|---|
| The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort | Top Resort — Southern Living 2026; Top Resort in the South — Condé Nast 2025 |
| The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort | Top Resort in the South — Condé Nast 2025 |
| Wild Dunes Resort | Top Resort in the South — Condé Nast 2025 |
Charleston restaurants named in 2026 awards
Southern Living's 2026 South's Best Awards named seven Charleston restaurants across three categories — top BBQ, Classic Restaurants of the South, and Legendary Restaurants of the South. The full ranked list of Charleston restaurants (including the city's three Michelin-starred rooms) lives on the 24 best restaurants in Charleston page.
| Restaurant | Award |
|---|---|
| Lewis Barbecue | Top BBQ Restaurant in South Carolina — Southern Living 2026 |
| FIG | Classic Restaurant of the South — Southern Living 2026 |
| Fleet Landing | Classic Restaurant of the South — Southern Living 2026 |
| Page's Okra Grill | Classic Restaurant of the South — Southern Living 2026 |
| Poogan's Porch | Legendary Restaurant of the South — Southern Living 2026 |
| Hyman's Seafood | Legendary Restaurant of the South — Southern Living 2026 |
| 82 Queen | Legendary Restaurant of the South — Southern Living 2026 |
How long Charleston has held each ranking
Reader-vote awards compound — every year a city places in the top three brings the next year's voters back. Charleston's combined streak across the three major hospitality surveys is the longest of any U.S. city.
| Award | Position | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| Condé Nast Traveler — Best Small City in U.S. | #1 | 4 consecutive years (2022–2025) |
| Condé Nast Traveler — top 5 small city (any rank) | Top 5 | 32 consecutive years |
| Southern Living — Best City in the South | #1 | 10 consecutive years (2017–2026) |
| Travel + Leisure — Best U.S. City | #1 | 12 consecutive years (2013–2024); #3 in 2025 |
| U.S. News — Top Public Regional University (South) | #4 | 10 consecutive years as a top-tier ranking |
How this index is built
Every ranking on this page is an external award given to Charleston or to a Charleston business by a third-party publication or organization — not an internal CharlestonRanked judgment. Each is sourced to the primary announcement (publication URL plus date) and excluded if the source cannot be verified. The page is reviewed monthly and updated when new awards are announced. Editor additions or corrections: contact us. Read CharlestonRanked's full methodology →
Frequently asked
- Why is Charleston ranked #1 so often?
- Charleston wins on a small set of compounding factors: a preserved 18th- and 19th-century architectural core (Rainbow Row, the Battery, downtown's National Historic Landmark district), a top-tier dining scene with three Michelin Stars and dozens of James Beard-recognized chefs concentrated in a two-mile peninsula, immediate access to four distinct beaches (Isle of Palms, Folly, Kiawah, Sullivan's), and a walkable scale that lets visitors experience all of it from a single downtown hotel. Reader-vote awards (Condé Nast, Travel + Leisure, Southern Living) compound: every year in the top three brings the next year's voters back.
- What was Charleston's longest #1 ranking streak?
- Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards — Charleston held the #1 U.S. city slot for twelve consecutive years (2013 through 2024), the longest such run in the survey's history. The streak ended in 2025 when Santa Fe and New Orleans edged ahead and Charleston dropped to #3, though it remains a fixture in the global top 20.
- How many years has Charleston been Condé Nast Traveler's #1 small city?
- Four consecutive years (2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025) as the #1 small city in the U.S. in the Readers' Choice Awards. More broadly, Charleston has appeared in Condé Nast's top 5 U.S. small-city ranking for 32 straight years — the longest streak of any city in the survey, per the Post and Courier.
- What about Southern Living's South's Best Awards?
- Charleston was named #1 city in the South by Southern Living readers for the tenth consecutive year in March 2026. The 2026 awards also recognized Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, and Sullivan's Island as Top Beach Getaways; The Charleston Place as a Top Classic Hotel; The Sanctuary at Kiawah as a Top Resort; Lewis Barbecue as the top BBQ restaurant in South Carolina; and FIG, Fleet Landing, Page's Okra Grill, Poogan's Porch, Hyman's Seafood, and 82 Queen across the Classic and Legendary Restaurants categories.
- Why did Travel + Leisure drop Charleston from #1 in 2025?
- Travel + Leisure's award is a reader-vote survey, not an editorial pick — voter mix and ballot framing shift year to year. In 2025, Santa Fe ranked first and New Orleans second; Charleston came in third. The 12-year #1 streak that ran from 2013 through 2024 had been the longest in the survey's history, and the drop is the first time Charleston has placed outside the top two in over a decade.
- Is Charleston a good place to raise a family?
- WalletHub's 2026 Best & Worst Places to Raise a Family ranked Charleston #8 nationally, based on a composite of 45 metrics across family fun, health & safety, education, affordability, and socioeconomics. The National Association of Realtors named the Charleston metro a top 10 housing hot spot for 2026 in its December 2025 report, citing job growth and a younger-than-average buyer pool.
- Which Charleston-area beaches have been ranked?
- Southern Living's 2026 South's Best Awards named all four Charleston-area beaches — Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, and Sullivan's Island — as Top Beach Getaways. Kiawah Island was separately ranked #2 in the Top Islands in the U.S. category by Condé Nast Traveler in 2025.
- Which Charleston hotels have won the most awards?
- The Charleston Place leads — named both a Top Classic Hotel by Southern Living in 2026 and a Top Hotel by Condé Nast Traveler in 2025. The Condé Nast 2025 Readers' Choice list also named The Dewberry, Elliott House Inn, Hotel Bennett, The Lindy, The Loutrel, The Mills House, The Ryder Hotel, Wentworth Mansion, and Zero George among Charleston's top hotels.
- Where can I see the full ranked list of Charleston restaurants, bars, and beaches?
- CharlestonRanked publishes dedicated ranked lists for each category, updated weekly: the 24 best restaurants, best bars, best things to do, best coffee, best BBQ, best pizza, best hotels, and best oyster bars. Each list blends community votes with Google, Yelp, and Resy ratings through a Bayesian prior, and links every entry to its full venue page.