Houston, TX vs Columbia, SC
Moving from Houston to Columbia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $256,154 median home) and taxes.
Houston 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 Houston, TX, you'd need about $93,472 in Columbia, SC (−$6,528).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Columbia, SC: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 3,903 sqft in Columbia ($147 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Columbia, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $18,444 | −$1,224 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,797 | −$287 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,465 | −$210 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,848 | +$12 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,000 | −$1,600 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $10,215 | +$2,816 |
| Total | $41,263 | $40,769 | −$493 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Columbia, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $256,154 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $128 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,537 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 0.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.05 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 36 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |