Of Charlestown's 24,000 acre area only about 3, 300 acres* are devoted to developed land. The vast majority (over 3, 000 acres) of this developed land is residential, with only a fraction devoted to commercial and industrial uses. Residential development tends to be more dense south of Rt 1, along the coast and more sparse farther to the north of the town.

*Low, Moderate, and high density residential, multifamily residential, commercial, waste disposal Comp Plan.

The map above right illustrates that the commercial centers focused around the major roadways in villages such as Cross Mills. These commercial centers along with Kenyon Piece and Dye Works, the only factory in town, play little part in the Charlestown's overall economy. However, some of the products used in these types of businesses could pose potential environmental risks, depending on their location and density.

The development of Charlestown's residential community is constrained to relatively mostly low density single family homes because the town's population relies on wells for their drinking water and Individual Sewage Disposal Systems to treat their sewage.