$100k salary, packing up from York

change
Charleston, SC cityscape

if you left york

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

$912

more each month than York ran you

Charleston is the expensive option. The argument has to be entirely about the place, not the price.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

46% more expensive than York(vs $1,361/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$286/mo more in state tax than York

vs 3.07% in York

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$912 less than York

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

04a house here

$432k

39% more expensive than York

vs $310k in York

05metro size

849k

vs 465k in York

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

York barely cracks 159 pleasant ones.

A month here packs 41.0× the events of York.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

5% higher than York

vs 64/100 in York

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

·walk score®

92/100

1% lower than York

vs 93/100 in York

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

67% more than York

vs 12 nonstops in York

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