Charleston, SC vs Boston, MA
Moving from Charleston to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($435,877 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Boston 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 Charleston, SC, you'd need about $109,194 in Boston, MA (+$9,194).
Livability — Charleston, SC: 60 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,295 sqft in Charleston vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($218 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, SC | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,288 | $38,532 | +$14,244 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $5,040 | +$242 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,210 | −$255 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $3,180 | +$1,332 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,800 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,552 | $17,694 | +$7,142 |
| Total | $46,950 | $69,455 | +$22,505 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, SC | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.1 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.07% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.75 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $435,877 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $218 | $436 |
| Median rent | $2,024 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |