Charlotte, NC vs Columbia, SC
Moving from Charlotte to Columbia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,321 → $256,154 median home) and taxes.
Charlotte vs Columbia 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 Charlotte, NC, you'd need about $95,787 in Columbia, SC (−$4,213).
Livability — Charlotte, NC: 66 · Columbia, SC: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,561 sqft in Charlotte vs 3,903 sqft in Columbia ($195 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charlotte, NC | Columbia, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,880 | $18,444 | −$2,436 |
| Groceries | $4,834 | $4,797 | −$36 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,465 | +$335 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,848 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,000 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,740 | $10,215 | +$1,475 |
| Total | $41,336 | $40,769 | −$566 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charlotte, NC | Columbia, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.71% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 10.0% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $390,321 | $256,154 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.1× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $128 |
| Median rent | $1,740 | $1,537 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.05 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $78 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.5 | 1.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |