New York, NY vs Columbia, SC
Moving from New York to Columbia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,625 → $256,154 median home) and taxes.
New York 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 New York, NY, you'd need about $82,758 in Columbia, SC (−$17,242).
Livability — New York, NY: 44 · Columbia, SC: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,099 sqft in New York vs 3,903 sqft in Columbia ($455 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New York, NY | Columbia, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $42,036 | $18,444 | −$23,592 |
| Groceries | $5,415 | $4,797 | −$617 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,465 | −$430 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,848 | −$1,332 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,000 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $23,496 | $10,215 | −$13,281 |
| Total | $79,622 | $40,769 | −$38,852 |
Side by side
| Metric | New York, NY | Columbia, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.6 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.55% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.4% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $727,625 | $256,154 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.8× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.1% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $455 | $128 |
| Median rent | $3,503 | $1,537 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 36 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.05 |
| Natural gas / mo | $98 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $87 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 49.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 29.8 | 1.5 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |