Nashville, TN vs Charleston, SC
Moving from Nashville to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($455,958 → $435,877 median home) and taxes.
Nashville 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 Nashville, TN, you'd need about $104,199 in Charleston, SC (+$4,199).
Livability — Nashville, TN: 63 · Charleston, SC: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,193 sqft in Nashville vs 2,295 sqft in Charleston ($228 vs $218 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Nashville, TN | Charleston, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,576 | $24,288 | +$2,712 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,797 | +$83 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,465 | +$335 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,848 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,000 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $5,231 | $10,552 | +$5,322 |
| Total | $38,459 | $46,950 | +$8,491 |
Side by side
| Metric | Nashville, TN | Charleston, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.0 | 101.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.80% | 4.07% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.8% | 8.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.52 | $5.75 |
| Median home price | $455,958 | $435,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.8× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $228 | $218 |
| Median rent | $1,798 | $2,024 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.55% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.05 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 36 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |