Sumter vs Charleston leftover
You'd keep $203 more a month in Charleston
$2,276/mo leftover in Charleston vs $2,073 in Sumter after tax and rent ($203 more). +$2,436 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Sumter leftover
$2,073
a month after tax and rent
Charleston leftover
$2,276
+$203 vs Sumter
Compare Sumter to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Sumter.
Monthly gap
Sumter → Charleston
$203
more / month in Charleston
$2,276 in Charleston · $2,073 in Sumter · 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, 98 households moved Sumter → Charleston (avg AGI $55,847). 102 went the other way. The whole move →
+$203 / mo
| Per month | Sumter | Charleston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $7,733 | +$1,108 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,544 | $1,942 | +$397 |
| Take-home pay | $5,081 | $5,791 | +$711 |
| Rent | $1,013 | $1,588 | +$575 |
| Getting around | $603 | $535 | −$68 |
| Groceries | $384 | $384 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $432 | $0 |
| Utilities | $240 | $240 | $0 |
| Everything else | $336 | $336 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,073 | $2,276 | +$203 |
To break even in Charleston, you'd need to earn
$89,000
Household gross, versus $79,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Sumter does now.
The tax difference alone
−$824
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.3% in Sumter, 25.1% in Charleston.
More about Charleston
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.
Charleston, SC in full
State income tax topping out at 6.2%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,890 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 27 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Charleston on Charleston wages.
Charleston → Sumter →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Charleston than Sumter?
A one-bedroom is about $1,013 in Sumter versus $1,588 in Charleston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $203 a month higher in Charleston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Charleston have state income tax?
Charleston is in South Carolina, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Sumter to Charleston?
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 Sumter and Charleston 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.