Columbia vs Myrtle Beach leftover
Moving to Myrtle Beach costs you $560 a month
$1,639/mo leftover in Myrtle Beach vs $2,199 in Columbia after tax and rent ($560 less). −$6,720 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Columbia leftover
$2,199
a month after tax and rent
Myrtle Beach leftover
$1,639
−$560 vs Columbia
Compare Columbia to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Columbia.
Monthly gap
Columbia → Myrtle Beach
$560
less / month in Columbia
$1,639 in Myrtle Beach · $2,199 in Columbia · 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, 269 households moved Columbia → Myrtle Beach (avg AGI $59,665). 276 went the other way. The whole move →
−$560 / mo
| Per month | Columbia | Myrtle Beach | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,958 | $6,366 | −$593 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,664 | $1,451 | −$213 |
| Take-home pay | $5,294 | $4,914 | −$380 |
| Rent | $1,157 | $1,319 | +$162 |
| Getting around | $546 | $564 | +$18 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,199 | $1,639 | −$560 |
To break even in Myrtle Beach, you'd need to earn
$87,000
Household gross, versus $83,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Columbia does now.
The tax difference alone
+$441
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.9% in Columbia, 22.8% in Myrtle Beach.
More about Myrtle Beach
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.
Myrtle Beach, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,570 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Myrtle Beach on Myrtle Beach wages.
Myrtle Beach → Columbia →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Myrtle Beach than Columbia?
A one-bedroom is about $1,157 in Columbia versus $1,319 in Myrtle Beach. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $560 a month lower in Myrtle Beach. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Myrtle Beach have state income tax?
Myrtle Beach is in South Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Columbia to Myrtle Beach?
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 Columbia and Myrtle Beach 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.