Charleston, SC vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Charleston to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($435,877 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Phoenix 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 $103,539 in Phoenix, AZ (+$3,539).
Livability — Charleston, SC: 60 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,295 sqft in Charleston vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($218 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, SC | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,288 | $20,904 | −$3,384 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,919 | +$122 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,960 | +$495 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,668 | −$180 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,800 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,552 | $7,280 | −$3,272 |
| Total | $46,950 | $40,531 | −$6,419 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, SC | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.1 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.07% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.75 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $435,877 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $218 | $242 |
| Median rent | $2,024 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.0 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |