Charleston, SC vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Charleston to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($435,877 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Columbus 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 $93,602 in Columbus, OH (−$6,398).
Livability — Charleston, SC: 60 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,295 sqft in Charleston vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($218 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, SC | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,288 | $18,288 | −$6,000 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,706 | −$91 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,025 | −$440 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $2,100 | +$252 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,300 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $10,552 | $9,711 | −$841 |
| Total | $46,950 | $39,130 | −$7,820 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, SC | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.1 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.07% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.75 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $435,877 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $218 | $202 |
| Median rent | $2,024 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.0 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.0 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |