Florence vs Columbia leftover
You'd keep $366 more a month in Columbia
$2,197/mo leftover in Columbia vs $1,831 in Florence after tax and rent ($366 more). +$4,392 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Florence leftover
$1,831
a month after tax and rent
Columbia leftover
$2,197
+$366 vs Florence
Compare Florence to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Florence.
Monthly gap
Florence → Columbia
$366
more / month in Columbia
$2,197 in Columbia · $1,831 in Florence · 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, 326 households moved Florence → Columbia (avg AGI $43,325). 235 went the other way. The whole move →
+$366 / mo
| Per month | Florence | Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,542 | $6,955 | +$413 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,514 | $1,663 | +$148 |
| Take-home pay | $5,027 | $5,292 | +$265 |
| Rent | $1,205 | $1,157 | −$48 |
| Getting around | $599 | $546 | −$53 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,831 | $2,197 | +$366 |
To break even in Columbia, you'd need to earn
$76,500
Household gross, versus $78,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Florence does now.
The tax difference alone
−$307
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.2% in Florence, 23.9% in Columbia.
More about Columbia
Florence, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,435 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 23 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 → Florence →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbia than Florence?
A one-bedroom is about $1,205 in Florence versus $1,157 in Columbia. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $366 a month higher 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 Florence 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 Florence 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.