Detroit, MI vs Charleston, SC
Moving from Detroit to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $435,877 median home) and taxes.
Detroit vs Charleston 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $102,965 in Charleston, SC (+$2,965).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Charleston, SC: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 2,295 sqft in Charleston ($163 vs $218 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Charleston, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $24,288 | +$6,288 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,797 | −$99 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,465 | −$1,110 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,848 | −$468 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,000 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $10,552 | +$1,005 |
| Total | $40,634 | $46,950 | +$6,316 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Charleston, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 101.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 4.07% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 8.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.75 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $435,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $218 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $2,024 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.05 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $74 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.3 | 51.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 53% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |