All-items parity
93.7
US = 100.0
South Carolina (SC) | All-items parity 93.7
South Carolina Cost of Living 2026
South Carolina reads 93.7 on the BEA all-items price parity for 2024, usefully below the national level, with housing rents at 80.5 and a median home of $299,500. It has become one of America's biggest relocation destinations for a reason: owner-occupied homes are assessed at a preferential 4% ratio that holds effective property tax to 0.53%, the income tax was collapsed into two brackets (1.99-5.21%), and retirees get Social Security untaxed plus sizeable deductions. The premiums hide on the coast, in insurance and in the second-home tax trap.
Owner-occupier 4% assessmentIncome tax 1.99-5.21%Top-5 inbound-mover state
Median Home
$299,500
2BR rent $1,275/mo
Median Income
$72,350
Household, Census ACS
Category breakdown
The four BEA price parities vs the nation
| Category | SC index | National avg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 93.7 | 100.0 | -6.3% |
| Services: housing rents | 80.5 | 100.6 | -20.0% |
| Goods | 96.3 | 99.6 | -3.3% |
| Services: utilities | 88.3 | 98.4 | -10.3% |
| Services: other | 98.3 | 100.1 | -1.8% |
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes these four component parities and no others. There is no federal grocery, healthcare or transportation price parity, so this table shows none. Food at home sits inside Goods; medical and transport services sit inside Services: other.
Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities by State (table SARPP), 2024 reference year, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Census ACS 2024 1-year (median income, home value), SC Department of Revenue (income tax per Act 110), Tax Foundation (effective property tax), EIA (electricity rates), KFF (uninsured rate).
Moving to South Carolina?
The cost of the move itself belongs in the comparison. Describe your move once on Angi and get matched with local and long-distance movers to compare real quotes, free and with no obligation.
Partner link: we earn a commission if you submit a request through it. It has no effect on any figure or ranking on this site.
Pros / offsets
What works in South Carolina.
Owner-occupiers get a structurally favored tax deal. Primary residences are assessed at 4% of value against 6% for second homes and rentals, and owner-occupiers are exempt from school operating millage. The effective rate works out around 0.53%, roughly $1,500 a year on the median home, with the over-65 homestead exemption trimming it further.
A simplified, falling income tax. The 2026 reform collapsed the old bracket ladder into two: 1.99-5.21%, with the top rate on a legislated glide path downward. Social Security is exempt, and retirees 65+ can deduct a substantial slice of other retirement income on top.
The Upstate is a manufacturing value pocket. Greenville-Spartanburg pairs BMW, Michelin and a dense supplier base with family homes commonly in the $230,000 to $320,000 range and one of the South’s most praised revitalized downtowns.
Coast-to-mountains optionality at Southern prices. Within three hours you can price a beach town (Myrtle Beach remains one of the cheapest oceanfront retirement markets in America), a historic metro (Charleston), a capital (Columbia) or Blue Ridge foothills, all under one low-tax regime.
Cons / drivers
Where South Carolina costs more.
The 6% assessment trap on second homes. Buy before establishing primary residency, or hold a rental or vacation property, and you are assessed at 6% without the school-tax exemption: the bill can triple versus an identical owner-occupied house. It is the single most expensive surprise in South Carolina real estate.
Coastal insurance is repricing the Lowcountry. Wind-and-hail and flood coverage near Charleston, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach commonly adds thousands a year and is climbing; on the immediate coast the insurance line can rival the property-tax saving.
Charleston has gone national-price. The metro's desirability pushed Mount Pleasant, downtown and the islands far above the state figure; Charleston now prices like a destination city, not like South Carolina.
Wages, services and summer bills lag the brochure. Median household income is $72,350, the state has not expanded Medicaid and 9.5% are uninsured, and cooling-season electricity (average bill $158) runs high for the region. Vehicles also owe an annual personal property tax that newcomers rarely expect.
Tax + benefit signals
South Carolina tax and access overview
State income tax
1.99-5.21%
Graduated or flat
Property tax effective
0.53%
Of assessed value, annual
Sales tax (state)
6.00%
Local can add 1-4% more
Uninsured rate
9.5%
Medicaid: not expanded
Your take-home pay in South Carolina
Federal, South Carolina and any local income tax on your salary, per paycheck.
The mortgage on a $299,500 home
Monthly payment at today’s rates with South Carolina property tax (0.53%) and average home insurance.
Metro variation
State averages mask city variation.
South Carolina averages 93.7 on the BEA all-items parity, split across four distinct markets:
Charleston metro: The premium market. Downtown, Mount Pleasant and the barrier islands price 50%+ above the state median, with coastal insurance stacking on top; North Charleston and Summerville carry the value end of the metro.
Greenville-Spartanburg (the Upstate): The best value-to-amenity ratio in the state, manufacturing payrolls, a celebrated downtown, foothills climate, and housing still near the state median.
Columbia: State government and the University of South Carolina anchor a steady, cheap capital market, among the most affordable state capitals in the country.
Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand: Retiree-volume pricing: oceanfront-adjacent condos and golf-community homes at prices Florida abandoned a decade ago, with HOA and insurance as the fine print.
The index average blends boom-priced Charleston with a state that mostly still sells below $300,000.
Frequently Asked
South Carolina cost of living, answered
How does South Carolina's 4% vs 6% property assessment work?
A legal primary residence is assessed at 4% of market value and exempted from school operating taxes; any other residential property, second homes, rentals, homes owned before you establish residency, is assessed at 6% and pays the school levy. The practical effect: an owner-occupier pays around 0.5% effective while an identical investment property can pay roughly three times as much. Filing the 4% application after moving is one of the most valuable pieces of paperwork in the state.
What did South Carolina's 2026 income-tax reform change?
Act 110, signed in March 2026 and retroactive to the 2026 tax year, collapsed the old graduated structure into two brackets: 1.99% on roughly the first $30,000 of taxable income and 5.21% above it, with the top rate scheduled to step down further as revenue triggers are met. It replaced a system that nominally ran to 6.2%. For most households it is a modest cut and a large simplification.
Is South Carolina good for retirees financially?
It is built for them. Social Security is exempt from state income tax; retirees 65+ deduct a substantial amount of other retirement income; the over-65 homestead exemption removes the first $50,000 of home value from tax on top of the owner-occupier discount. Set against that: coastal insurance, the annual vehicle property tax, and healthcare access thinning outside the metros. Inland retirement (Upstate, Aiken, Columbia) captures the tax benefits without the coastal insurance bill.
Why is Charleston so much more expensive than the rest of the state?
A decade of top-of-the-rankings tourism, port-driven employment growth and in-migration met a peninsula with fixed supply and flood-constrained buildable land. Downtown and Mount Pleasant now trade at prices comparable to major-metro suburbs nationally, 50% or more above the state median, and wind-and-flood insurance adds a second premium. Summerville, Goose Creek and North Charleston remain the metro's affordable on-ramps.
Does South Carolina really tax cars every year?
Yes. Vehicles owe an annual personal property tax to the county, paid before renewing registration; the bill depends on the vehicle's value and local millage, commonly a few hundred dollars a year on a mid-priced car. Newcomers from states without vehicle property tax (Florida, Georgia for most cars) should add it to the moving math, it recurs every year, unlike a one-off title fee.
How do South Carolina utilities and groceries compare?
Cooling is the utility story: electricity at 14.35 cents per kWh and an average bill of $158, high for the Southeast because summer air-conditioning runs long. Groceries are unexceptional: BEA publishes no grocery parity (food sits in the goods parity, 96.3 vs national 99.6), unprepared food is exempt from the state sales tax, and households average $392 a month.