Uprootmap

Example household · $83,730 · same pay · 1 adult

Columbia skyline

Uprootmap

Move Score64

Columbia, SC

$2,249after tax and rent

Photo: Akhenaton06 / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

On a $83,730 household paycheck in Columbia.

Modelled metro

So you know: homicide deaths in Columbia are above the US rate in this release, 10.6 versus 6.5 per 100,000. CDC via County Health Rankings, CDC NVSS 2017–2023 (CHR 2025 release).

Move Score

64

Each row is 0–100. The Move Score is their weighted average, rounded, and it stops at 99. Rent is only in Housing. Jobs is off when the paycheck is the same in every city. Schools is off when there are no kids.

The 6 rows that are on. Their weighted average is 64.1, and that is the score, rounded, up to 99. Rows that are off stay out. The percent on each row is its weight. Tap a row to see what it measures. How the score is weighted

Example household

Example: $83,730, same pay in every city · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom

Salary, before tax

$83,730 in every city.

Pay between cities
Job
Adults
Kids
Housing
Bedrooms · 1 bedroom

These figures are projections built from available public data. Conditions change, and the numbers may not reflect current prices, taxes, or immigration rules. Check official sources before you make decisions.

After tax and rent

$2,249

Home city

Not picked

Salary

$83,730

Same everywhere

Top things to do in Columbia

More in Columbia
Paycheck to pocket
Monthly pay$6,978
Tax$1,634
Rent$1,157
Other bills$1,938
Left$2,249

Stats

Rent
$1,377
2 bd median
Take-home
$5,344
Per month
Tax
23%
Of pay
Prices
4% below
US, besides rent

Next

$2,249 / mo

Money left after tax and rent, by state.Columbia
LowerHigher
Columbia · this breakdown

The month

One earner. 1 bd.

See full breakdown
  • Taxes$1,634
  • Rent$1,157
  • Other$1,938
  • Left$2,249

Pay and tax, per year

Gross household pay
$83,730
Federal income tax
−$9,591
Social Security and Medicare
−$6,405
State income tax (SC)
−$3,609
Take-home pay
$64,125
Effective tax rate
23.4%

Living costs, per month

Rent, 1br
$1,157
Groceries
$384
Getting around
$546
Healthcare
$432
Utilities and internet
$240
Everything else
$336
Total spending
$3,095

After tax and rent

$2,249 left/mo

County by county

6 counties. Rent in this table is the Census median of what residents pay. The city figure is Zillow asking rent.

Population, rent, home value, income and commute by county in Columbia, SC
CountyPeopleMedian rent2-bed rentHome valueIncomeCommute
Richland CountySC419k50%$1,185$1,131$224,200$61,69923 min
Lexington CountySC300k36%$1,115$1,071$217,700$75,01426 min
Kershaw CountySC67k8%$872$824$191,900$64,34330 min
Fairfield CountySC21k2%$910$860$129,100$46,97230 min
Saluda CountySC19k2%$814$698$123,200$52,95730 min
Calhoun CountySC14k2%$994$913$148,800$56,69027 min

Census ACS 2023. “—” is not published.

Working remotely

If the paycheck stays the same

One adult, one bedroom, $120,000 held flat in every city. That leaves $4,188 a month here after tax and rent. One-bedroom rent in that math is $1,157.

Work from home
12.9% of workers
ACS 2024 1-year
Home internet
75.2% of households
Cable, fiber optic, or DSL
Paid to move, remote job
No open remote grant on this metro

Worked-from-home share is from ACS 2024 1-year. Internet is households with cable, fiber optic, or DSL, from ACS 2023 5-year.

Best cities for remote workersMoving from South Carolina

The place

25 min commute. A car per adult.

Weather
Not shown for this metro.
Getting around
A car per adult
Average commute
25 minutes each way
Size
840k people
Buying instead
Median home $213,400. About $1,464/mo with 20% down.
Taxes
South Carolina income tax tops out at 6.20%. Sales tax 7.5%, property tax 0.59%.

Schools

Students
181,111
Pupils per teacher
13.7
Districts
14
  1. Richland 0228,841 students
  2. Lexington 0127,074 students
  3. Charter Institute at Erskine26,014 students
  4. Richland 0121,814 students
  5. SC Public Charter School District21,383 students

NCES 2024-2025. The district count is every public district in the metro. The names are the largest 5.

Schools in Columbia

Compare Columbia

Pick a home city

More on this city

Explore more

Moving from Columbia

Take-home by job in Columbia

Pay and leftover for every job in Columbia

Other South Carolina metros

All South Carolina metros

Questions

How is take-home pay in Columbia calculated?

Columbia is in South Carolina, which taxes wage income. Take-home is a local salary minus federal tax, payroll tax, and that state tax. Leftover is what remains after rent and bills.

What does rent cost in Columbia?

About $1,157 for a one-bedroom and $1,377 for a two-bedroom in Columbia, SC. Columbia averages 223 sunny days, a July high of 91°F, and a 25-minute commute.

How do I compare Columbia with another city?

Put Columbia next to another city on the same job and household. The gap is the tax bill and the rent.

Also look at

Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.

Compare Columbia

Next stepHousingRent, home prices, and property tax.