Hilton Head Island vs Columbia leftover
You'd keep $451 more a month in Columbia
$2,208/mo leftover in Columbia vs $1,757 in Hilton Head Island after tax and rent ($451 more). +$5,412 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Hilton Head Island leftover
$1,757
a month after tax and rent
Columbia leftover
$2,208
+$451 vs Hilton Head Island
Compare Hilton Head Island to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Hilton Head Island.
Monthly gap
Hilton Head Island → Columbia
$451
more / month in Columbia
$2,208 in Columbia · $1,757 in Hilton Head Island · 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, 124 households moved Hilton Head Island → Columbia (avg AGI $53,024). 132 went the other way. The whole move →
+$451 / mo
| Per month | Hilton Head Island | Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,792 | $6,971 | +$180 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,604 | $1,669 | +$64 |
| Take-home pay | $5,188 | $5,303 | +$115 |
| Rent | $1,483 | $1,157 | −$326 |
| Getting around | $556 | $546 | −$10 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,757 | $2,208 | +$451 |
To break even in Columbia, you'd need to earn
$75,000
Household gross, versus $81,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Hilton Head Island does now.
The tax difference alone
−$134
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.6% in Hilton Head Island, 23.9% in Columbia.
More about Columbia
Hilton Head Island, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,766 and 225 sunny days; commutes average 24 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 → Hilton Head Island →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbia than Hilton Head Island?
A one-bedroom is about $1,483 in Hilton Head Island versus $1,157 in Columbia. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $451 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 Hilton Head Island 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 Hilton Head Island 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.