Columbia, SC vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Columbia to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Columbia 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 Columbia, SC, you'd need about $109,804 in Philadelphia, PA (+$9,804).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($128 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $22,968 | +$4,524 |
| 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 | $10,215 | $10,192 | −$23 |
| Total | $40,769 | $45,025 | +$4,256 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 47 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $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 | 0.63% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 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 |