A Ranking of the Toughest Places to Live in the U.S.

Unlike the charm of its tourist-laden southern counterpart, North Charleston offers a stark contrast. This industrial suburb, home to nearly 120,000, contends with a persistent undercurrent of violence and poverty.

The murder rate often outpaces national averages, and affordable housing is rapidly vanishing. Once a textile and military stronghold, its economic core fractured long ago. Today, warehouses and dilapidated motels pepper its landscape. For many, North Charleston is a place you pass through, not plant roots.