Providence, RI vs Charleston, SC
Moving from Providence to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $435,877 median home) and taxes.
Providence 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 Providence, RI, you'd need about $99,593 in Charleston, SC (−$407).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Charleston, SC: 60 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 2,295 sqft in Charleston ($328 vs $218 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Charleston, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $24,288 | −$1,668 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,797 | −$124 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,465 | −$410 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,848 | −$1,212 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $2,000 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $10,552 | −$2,569 |
| Total | $52,634 | $46,950 | −$5,683 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Charleston, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 101.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 4.07% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 8.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.75 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $435,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $218 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $2,024 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.05 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 36 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |