Charleston vs Columbia leftover
Moving to Columbia costs you $76 a month
$2,211/mo leftover in Columbia vs $2,287 in Charleston after tax and rent ($76 less). −$912 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Charleston leftover
$2,287
a month after tax and rent
Columbia leftover
$2,211
−$76 vs Charleston
Compare Charleston to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Charleston.
Monthly gap
Charleston → Columbia
$76
less / month in Charleston
$2,211 in Columbia · $2,287 in Charleston · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 923 households moved Charleston → Columbia (avg AGI $57,795). 942 went the other way. The whole move →
−$76 / mo
| Per month | Charleston | Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,750 | $6,976 | −$774 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,948 | $1,670 | −$278 |
| Take-home pay | $5,802 | $5,306 | −$497 |
| Rent | $1,588 | $1,157 | −$431 |
| Getting around | $535 | $546 | +$11 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,287 | $2,211 | −$76 |
To break even in Columbia, you'd need to earn
$85,000
Household gross, versus $93,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Charleston does now.
The tax difference alone
+$576
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.1% in Charleston, 23.9% in Columbia.
More about Columbia
Charleston, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,890 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 27 minutes.
Columbia, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,377 and 223 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Columbia on Columbia wages.
Columbia → Charleston →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbia than Charleston?
A one-bedroom is about $1,588 in Charleston versus $1,157 in Columbia. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $76 a month lower in Columbia. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Columbia have state income tax?
Columbia is in South Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Charleston to Columbia?
Take-home pay is recalculated under South Carolina tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Charleston and Columbia moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.