Charleston vs Sumter leftover
Moving to Sumter costs you $205 a month
$2,082/mo leftover in Sumter vs $2,287 in Charleston after tax and rent ($205 less). −$2,460 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
Sumter leftover
$2,082
−$205 vs Charleston
Compare Charleston to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Charleston.
Monthly gap
Charleston → Sumter
$205
less / month in Charleston
$2,082 in Sumter · $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, 102 households moved Charleston → Sumter (avg AGI $48,686). 98 went the other way. The whole move →
−$205 / mo
| Per month | Charleston | Sumter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,750 | $6,640 | −$1,110 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,948 | $1,550 | −$398 |
| Take-home pay | $5,802 | $5,090 | −$712 |
| Rent | $1,588 | $1,013 | −$575 |
| Getting around | $535 | $603 | +$68 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,287 | $2,082 | −$205 |
To break even in Sumter, you'd need to earn
$83,500
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
+$826
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.1% in Charleston, 23.3% in Sumter.
More about Sumter
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.
Sumter, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,206 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Sumter on Sumter wages.
Sumter → Charleston →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Sumter than Charleston?
A one-bedroom is about $1,588 in Charleston versus $1,013 in Sumter. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $205 a month lower in Sumter. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Sumter have state income tax?
Sumter is in South Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Charleston to Sumter?
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 Sumter 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.