Cost of living in South Carolina

South Carolina at a glance

Median rent

$1,180

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$69,324

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$259,000

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$1,251

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

26 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

4.9%

Census ACS, DP03

South Carolina's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 6% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in South Carolina

These are the most populous places in South Carolina, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Greenville County

  Population

  548K

  Rent

  $1,262

  Household income

  $76,932

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,512

  Set as targetPlan

• Richland County

  Population

  422K

  Rent

  $1,228

  Household income

  $63,784

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,637

  Set as targetPlan

• Charleston County

  Population

  420K

  Rent

  $1,620

  Household income

  $88,494

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $1,901

  Set as targetPlan

South Carolina, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on May 23, 1788, as the eighth state. The English established a permanent settlement in 1670 and Charleston grew into a commercial hub for rice and indigo. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union, on December 20, 1860.

• Congaree National Park

  The largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest in the Southeast, on the Congaree River floodplain.

• Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park

  Two forts at the entrance of Charleston Harbor, one of them fired on at the start of the Civil War.

• Kings Mountain National Military Park

  The site of the patriot victory of October 7, 1780, in the Revolutionary War.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in South Carolina

Current owners in South Carolina pay a median 0.48% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $1,251 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $436 in Marion County to $2,174 in Beaufort County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

A buyer in South Carolina should expect a higher bill than these: a sale is an assessable transfer of interest, so the 15% cap gives way to market value as of December 31 of the sale year. Source: Georgetown County Assessor, assessable transfer of interest.

Health in South Carolina

Life expectancy

74.7 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

11.0%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

16.3%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

107

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for South Carolina as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in South Carolina

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$3.0B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$2.26

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Hurricane

$1.2B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Greenville County, SC is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 46 counties in South Carolina

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.