Columbia, SC vs Tampa, FL
Moving from Columbia to Tampa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $360,738 median home) and taxes.
Columbia vs Tampa 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 $109,922 in Tampa, FL (+$9,922).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · Tampa, FL: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 2,564 sqft in Tampa ($128 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | Tampa, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $24,216 | +$5,772 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,949 | +$151 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $4,800 | +$1,335 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,656 | −$192 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $4,200 | +$2,200 |
| Taxes | $10,215 | $4,642 | −$5,573 |
| Total | $40,769 | $44,463 | +$3,693 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | Tampa, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 4.92% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $360,738 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | -3.4% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $2,018 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.63% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $38 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 52 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 66% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |