Columbia, SC vs Houston, TX
Moving from Columbia to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Columbia vs Houston 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 Columbia, SC, you'd need about $106,984 in Houston, TX (+$6,984).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($128 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $19,668 | +$1,224 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $5,085 | +$287 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,675 | +$210 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,836 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $3,600 | +$1,600 |
| Taxes | $10,215 | $7,399 | −$2,816 |
| Total | $40,769 | $41,263 | +$493 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 63 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |