What does it cost to live in Charleston, SC? Based on 7 federal sources (BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026, EIA energy prices, IRS/state tax), a single adult's modeled annual budget is $57,234 and a family of four's is $97,506 (2025).
How much does a family of four need in Charleston?
A family of four (2 adults, 2 children) needs about $97,507/yr to break even in Charleston — roughly $8,126 a month. Housing is the largest single cost. This is a break-even budget of basic needs, not a recommended salary and not a composite index.
Components carry different grains, from ZIP or county (housing) to national adjusted to state price level (CEX rows via BEA Regional Price Parities). Not a recommended salary; not a poverty threshold; components are not weighted into a composite score. See family-of-four methodology →
BEA Regional Price Parities
How expensive is Charleston versus the U.S.?
The overall price level in Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area is 101.0 against a U.S. average of 100 — +1.0% more expensive than the national average.
All items
101.0
Goods
96.3
Rents
119.8
Utilities
88.2
Other services
98.3
Category
Index (U.S. = 100)
vs U.S.
All items
101.0
+1.0%
Goods
96.3
−3.7%
Rents
119.8
+19.8%
Utilities
88.2
−11.8%
Other services
98.3
−1.7%
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 · Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro area · methodology →
ACS 5-Year 2020–2024
What do homeowners pay each month in Charleston?
Owners with a mortgage in Charleston pay a median of 2,253/mo in selected owner costs.
Owner cost & property tax — place-grain from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Median monthly selected owner costs (SMOC) cover mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and condo fees where applicable; real-estate taxes paid is the median property-tax bill for owner-occupied units.
Utility prices in South Carolina — applies to South Carolina statewide (electricity and natural gas) or its PADD region (gasoline). Residential rates are state averages, not what any specific household pays.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) · state-grain · methodology →
Census Gov Finances FY2022
State tax burden.
Tax burden in South Carolina — combined state + local taxes per capita, from the U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (FY2022). Population denominator: Census PEP 2022 state estimate. State-grain only; this is revenue divided by people, not a household tax bill. "vs U.S. state average" compares one state to the unweighted mean across all 51 states + DC.
Measure
Value
vs U.S. state average
Total state + local taxes per capita
$5,013
6,836 avg · -27%
Property taxes per capita
$1,433
1,886 avg · -24%
Sales & gross receipts taxes per capita
$1,708
2,255 avg · -24%
Individual income taxes per capita
$1,298
1,617 avg · -20%
Corporate income taxes per capita
$228
393 avg · -42%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances · FY2022 · state-grain · methodology →
State Income Tax TY2025
State income tax.
Measure
Value
Note
Top state income tax rate (single filer)
6.20%
3 brackets, progressive · TY2025
Effective state income tax at $75k (single)
4.12%
after $14,600 standard deduction · TY2025
Full 3-bracket schedule
Income range (single)
Marginal rate
$0 – $3,460
0%
$3,460 – $17,330
3%
$17,330+
6.2%
Single filer rates for tax year 2025. Top marginal rate reduced from 6.4% to 6.2% effective TY2025 under SB 1087 (2022) trigger schedule. Scheduled to decline further to 6.0%. Standard deduction matches federal.
Income tax: state-level only. Local income taxes (e.g., NYC resident tax, Yonkers surcharge, Portland-OR Metro tax, Maryland county tax, Philadelphia wage tax, OH/KY/MI city income taxes) appear in the Local income tax section below when modeled. Effective rate at $75k is illustrative only — single filer with state standard deduction, no itemized deductions, no credits.
Source: South Carolina Department of Revenue · TY2025 · state-grain · methodology →
Tax Foundation TY2025
State + local sales tax.
Measure
Rate
Note
State sales tax rate
6.00%
statutory state rate · TY2025
Avg local sales tax rate
1.46%
population-weighted state average · Tax Foundation TY2025
Combined sales tax rate
7.46%
state + avg local · TY2025
Sales tax: state-grain. The "average local rate" is Tax Foundation's population-weighted state-average; actual local rates vary by city, county, and special taxing district. Selective sales taxes (hotels, meals, car rentals) and excise taxes (gasoline, tobacco, alcohol) are excluded.
Source: Tax Foundation · state statutes · TY2025 · methodology →
USDA Food Plans + Food Atlas
Food and grocery access.
Food and grocery access. USDA national food-cost reference plus USDA Food Environment Atlas county-level food access. National plan values are not adjusted for local prices.
Measure
Value
Grain / source
Thrifty Food Plan, family of 4
$996/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Moderate-Cost Plan, family of 4
$1,341/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Liberal Plan, family of 4
$1,619/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Grocery stores per 1,000 pop
0.11
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2020
Low food-access population share
29.0%
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2019
SNAP participation rate
11.8%
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2022
Food Atlas county: Berkeley County, SC. USDA Food Plans observation: July 2025. Alaska and Hawaii shoppers should expect substantially higher prices than the national figure. See food methodology.
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark
Full budget itemization.
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark — estimated monthly cost of basic needs, composed from federal public-domain sources. Two compositions: single adult (1BR rental) and family of four, two adults working, two children ages 4 and 8 (3BR rental). Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite index. Methodology informed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator and EPI Family Budget Calculator; figures independently computed from primary federal sources.
Single adult · 1BR rental
Component
Monthly
Grain / source
Housing (1BR rental)
$1,400/mo
HUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 29405
Food
$290/mo
national, USDA Low-Cost Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
Transportation
$1,069/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)
$180/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Internet + cellular
$122/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities
$470/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement
$306/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state)
$933/mo
TY2025, iteratively solved
Total monthly
$4,770/mo
mixed grain
Total annual
$57,234/yr
mixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax)
$57,235/yr
mixed grain, TY2025 tax solver
Single adult, no dependents, single filing status.
Family of four · 3BR rental
Two adults working, two children (ages 4 and 8). Married Filing Jointly.
Component
Monthly
Grain / source
Housing (3BR rental)
$1,920/mo
HUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 29405, 3BR
Food
$1,098/mo
national, USDA Family-of-4 Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
national, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities
$470/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement
$306/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state, MFJ)
$1,264/mo
TY2025, iteratively solved, MFJ + EITC + CTC
Total monthly
$8,126/mo
mixed grain
Total annual
$97,506/yr
mixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax, combined)
$97,507/yr
mixed grain, TY2025 MFJ solver
Includes CTC $4,400/yr (TY2025 federal credits, MFJ).
Note: USDA family-of-4 food plan uses children ages 6–8 and 9–11; childcare modeled at ages 4 and 8. Small ~5% age-band inconsistency documented in methodology.
Component grains range from ZIP or county (housing, per HUD SAFMR/FMR coverage) to national (CEX-based rows adjusted to state price level via BEA Regional Price Parities). Childcare: county-grain DOL NDCP 2022, inflated by BLS CPI Child Care subindex (factor 1.2293, Jan 2022 → Apr 2026). Local income tax modeled for ~3,100+ jurisdictions in 16 states. Not a recommended salary; not a poverty threshold; components are not weighted into a composite score. See household budget methodology, family-of-four methodology, and local income tax methodology.
Source detail
Cost-of-living and household budget context
Source agency
Every City In The USA (derived from federal primary sources)
Dataset
Every City — Monthly Household Budget Composite (derived)
Vintage / period
Derived · updated after each upstream refresh
Native geography
Mixed public-source grain: city, county, metro, ZIP/FMR area, state, regional, and national inputs.
Transformation
Every City attaches documented source layers to a city and computes budget components; it does not publish one universal cost score.
Known limit: Benchmark context, not a salary recommendation, policy threshold, or city-precise price index.
Charleston's closest published peers by population — same-state first, then nearest nationwide (fallback cohort; a full size, region, and cost-of-living model is planned).
Headline figures: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 and the family-of-four Monthly Household Budget Benchmark. Build a full side-by-side on Compare cost of living.
Methodology
How these figures are computed.
Every figure on this page comes from a primary federal source. No composite index is produced; figures are presented per-component with grain labels so readers can trace each number to its source.
