Charleston, SC vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Charleston to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($435,877 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Philadelphia 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 $101,251 in Philadelphia, PA (+$1,251).
Livability — Charleston, SC: 60 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,295 sqft in Charleston vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($218 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, SC | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,288 | $22,968 | −$1,320 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,909 | +$112 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,440 | −$25 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $2,316 | +$468 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,200 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $10,552 | $10,192 | −$360 |
| Total | $46,950 | $45,025 | −$1,925 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, SC | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.1 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.07% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.75 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $435,877 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $218 | $223 |
| Median rent | $2,024 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |