Boston, MA vs Charleston, SC
Moving from Boston to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $435,877 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Charleston at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Boston, MA, you'd need about $91,580 in Charleston, SC (−$8,420).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Charleston, SC: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,295 sqft in Charleston ($436 vs $218 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Charleston, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $24,288 | −$14,244 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,797 | −$242 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,465 | +$255 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,848 | −$1,332 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $2,000 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $10,552 | −$7,141 |
| Total | $69,455 | $46,950 | −$22,505 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Charleston, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 101.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 4.07% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 8.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.75 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $435,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $218 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $2,024 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.05 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 51.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |