Due to the large labor forces of enslaved African Americans who worked these properties for over two centuries, the population of Charleston County in 1870 was 73 percent black; they were freedmen by this time.

After the Civil War, phosphate fertilizer plants were developed, with extensive strip mining between the Ashley River and Broad Path (Meeting Street Road).

During World War II, substantial development occurred as the military bases and industries expanded, increasing the personnel assigned there.

From World War II through the 1960s, many whites who lived in this region (referred to by Charlestonians as the North Area) were unhappy about the way parts of their community were being developed.

Also during June, the city hired a police chief, and treasurer and annexed its first industry, which was Textone Incorporated Plywood, Westvaco.

At the end of the first month, the city officials reached an agreement for garbage collection and fire protection by the local public service district.

The month concluded with the city's first big annexation, south of Bexley Street between Spruill Avenue and the Charleston Naval Shipyard.

A monument to honor Vietnam veterans was erected and dedicated in front of City Hall, where it stood for over 20 years before being moved to Patriots Point in 2008.

In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo devastated the area, causing a total of over $2.8 billion in damage to the South Carolina Lowcountry.

In 2023, former North Charleston Police Chief Reggie Burgess was elected mayor, the first Black person to serve in the role.

[13] In 1993 a squadron of C-17 Globemaster III aircraft was established at Charleston Air Force Base, bringing more residents and jobs.

The influence of Lowcountry legislators and the threat of nuclear attack played an important role in keeping North Charleston's bases open in the face of periodic attempts at closure.

In the early 1990s, with the resolution of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, plus impending defense budget cuts, the Charleston Navy Base was proposed for closure.

Given its annual expenditures of approximately 1.4 billion dollars in the region, the base's closing represented a major loss of jobs and a blow to the entire Tri-County economy.

The plan sought to preserve historic architectural styles, neighborhood diversity, and the area's unique social fabric.

It is also intended to restore environmental stability and beauty, attract jobs, improve services such as education and health care, reduce dependence on car travel, promote recreation, eliminate the foundations of crime and poverty, and strengthen residents' sense of pride.

[17] That newspaper also reported that Bennett Hofford Construction Company also completed Phase 1 of a new Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition (HVAC) for the portion of the building leased by the County of Charleston.

[15] In October 2009, Boeing announced the selection of North Charleston for its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft assembly and delivery prep center.

This positioned North Charleston as one of the major aircraft centers of the world, with the potential for thousands of new jobs to provide quality work for residents of the city and the entire Tri-County area.

[19] In December 2010, a Delaware corporation with ties to former state Commerce Secretary Bob Faith bought the largest parcel (approximately 240 acres (0.97 km2) at the north end of the former base) of Noisette land.

[20] The corporation transferred the deed for that land to the state's Commerce Department's Public Railways Division, which had the impetus to move forward with their proposed railyard with northern and southern access despite Summey's objections.

[21] On April 4, 2015, a shooting incident took place, in which Walter L. Scott, who was driving a car with a suspected broken taillight in North Charleston, was fatally shot after being stopped by Officer Michael T. Slager.

Major businesses in the area include: As of 2016, North Charleston had the highest rate of eviction filings and judgments of any American city with a population of 100,000 or more (in states where complete data was available).

[53][54][55] In supporting Joint Base Charleston, 231 acres (93 ha) of the former Charleston Naval Base have been transformed into a multiuse Federal complex, with 17 Government and Military tenants, as well as homeport for six RO-RO Military Sealift Command ships, two Coast Guard National Security Cutters, two NOAA research ships, Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.

The city is run by an elected Mayor–council government system, with the mayor acting as the chief administrator and the executive officer of the municipality.

[71] U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Bill Nettles made community policing one of his statewide initiatives, starting the program in North Charleston in 2011.

[74] Near the airport, in North Charleston, the Lowcountry Graduate Center offers satellite campus access to multiple universities in South Carolina.

A new intermodal facility, Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, is being built on the former Charleston Naval Base and Phase 1 opened in April 2021.

Today the Port of Charleston boasts the deepest water in the southeast region and regularly handles ships too big to transit through the Panama Canal.

The North Charleston Intermodal Transportation Center will consolidate a new train station, long haul, and CARTA at one location.