same $100k income, fresh start from Columbia

change
Charleston, SC cityscape

if you left columbia

Charleston

sc · metro 849k

photo: Connor Scott McManus / pexels

a dispatch from

charleston

SC

32.78°N

79.94°W

Charleston is pastel rowhouses, cobblestone streets, the smell of pluff mud at low tide, and shrimp and grits that should be illegal everywhere else. The historic district is a working postcard, the food scene punches way above its size, and the porches are made for sitting. Spoleto Festival every spring brings world-class arts. It's small, dense, and absurdly photogenic.

metro849k

in our guides

#5

of 10

Best mid-sized US cities

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best cities for young professionals

read the guide
#10

of 10

Best affordable cities to live car-free

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best cities for couples

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best cities for live music and arts

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best cities for mild four-season weather

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best cities to live in the South

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best affordable coastal cities

read the guide
#3

of 10

Best cities on the East Coast

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best cities to live in the Southeast

read the guide
#3

of 10

Best cities in the Carolinas

read the guide
#7

of 10

Best warm affordable coastal cities

read the guide
#7

of 10

Best cities to live in your 30s

read the guide

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$436

more each month than Columbia ran you

Charleston runs a little pricier than Columbia. The case has to be about something other than rent.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

28% more expensive than Columbia(vs $1,551/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

vs 6.5% in Columbia

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$436 less than Columbia

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$432k

69% more expensive than Columbia

vs $255k in Columbia

05metro size

849k

vs 857k in Columbia

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

Columbia barely cracks 189 pleasant ones.

2.2× the events of Columbia, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

22% higher than Columbia

vs 55/100 in Columbia

Closest outdoor draw: Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.Wilderness Area, 19.4 mi.

·walk score®

92/100

8% higher than Columbia

vs 85/100 in Columbia

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

100% more than Columbia

vs 10 nonstops in Columbia

04 · see also

neighbors of charleston on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

reno

$620/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

asheville

$415/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

greenville

$436/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare charleston with:

RenoAshevilleGreenville