Charleston, SC vs Providence, RI
Moving from Charleston to Providence? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($435,877 → $524,867 median home) and taxes.
Charleston vs Providence 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 $100,409 in Providence, RI (+$409).
Livability — Charleston, SC: 60 · Providence, RI: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,295 sqft in Charleston vs 1,524 sqft in Providence ($218 vs $328 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, SC | Providence, RI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,288 | $25,956 | +$1,668 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,922 | +$124 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,875 | +$410 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $3,060 | +$1,212 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $1,700 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $10,552 | $13,121 | +$2,569 |
| Total | $46,950 | $52,634 | +$5,683 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, SC | Providence, RI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.1 | 101.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.07% | 5.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.75 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $435,877 | $524,867 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $218 | $328 |
| Median rent | $2,024 | $2,163 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 11.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 5.99% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.31% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 28.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $92 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $67 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 21 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 51.0 | 47.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.0 | 36.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |