Columbia vs Sumter leftover
Moving to Sumter costs you $128 a month
$2,071/mo leftover in Sumter vs $2,199 in Columbia after tax and rent ($128 less). −$1,536 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
Sumter leftover
$2,071
−$128 vs Columbia
Compare Columbia to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Columbia.
Monthly gap
Columbia → Sumter
$128
less / month in Columbia
$2,071 in Sumter · $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, 393 households moved Columbia → Sumter (avg AGI $45,198). 482 went the other way. The whole move →
−$128 / mo
| Per month | Columbia | Sumter | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,958 | $6,623 | −$335 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,664 | $1,544 | −$120 |
| Take-home pay | $5,294 | $5,079 | −$215 |
| Rent | $1,157 | $1,013 | −$144 |
| Getting around | $546 | $603 | +$57 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,199 | $2,071 | −$128 |
To break even in Sumter, you'd need to earn
$82,000
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
+$250
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.9% in Columbia, 23.3% in Sumter.
More about Sumter
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.
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 → Columbia →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Sumter than Columbia?
A one-bedroom is about $1,157 in Columbia versus $1,013 in Sumter. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $128 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 Columbia 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 Columbia 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.