Myrtle Beach vs Columbia leftover
You'd keep $561 more a month in Columbia
$2,206/mo leftover in Columbia vs $1,645 in Myrtle Beach after tax and rent ($561 more). +$6,732 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Myrtle Beach leftover
$1,645
a month after tax and rent
Columbia leftover
$2,206
+$561 vs Myrtle Beach
Compare Myrtle Beach to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Myrtle Beach.
Monthly gap
Myrtle Beach → Columbia
$561
more / month in Columbia
$2,206 in Columbia · $1,645 in Myrtle Beach · 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, 276 households moved Myrtle Beach → Columbia (avg AGI $40,011). 269 went the other way. The whole move →
+$561 / mo
| Per month | Myrtle Beach | Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,375 | $6,969 | +$594 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,455 | $1,668 | +$213 |
| Take-home pay | $4,920 | $5,301 | +$381 |
| Rent | $1,319 | $1,157 | −$162 |
| Getting around | $564 | $546 | −$18 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,645 | $2,206 | +$561 |
To break even in Columbia, you'd need to earn
$73,000
Household gross, versus $76,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Myrtle Beach does now.
The tax difference alone
−$442
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.8% in Myrtle Beach, 23.9% in Columbia.
More about Columbia
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.
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 → Myrtle Beach →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbia than Myrtle Beach?
A one-bedroom is about $1,319 in Myrtle Beach versus $1,157 in Columbia. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $561 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 Myrtle Beach 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 Myrtle Beach 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.