With Charleston's 12th straight No. 1 ranking on Travel + Leisure’s list for Best in the US and the announcement of multiple high-profile developments this year, we figured it was time to talk about the cost of planting some roots in the Holy City.

The median household income in Charleston County is $78,795 (in 2022 dollars) according to data from the US Census Bureau. State-wise, South Carolina is 41st in the country for median income at ~$59,318 per household.
The overall cost of living in Charleston is higher than both the national average and the rest of the state.

In Charleston, the cost of healthcare is lower compared to other parts of the state + the US. However, the cost of groceries, housing, and other miscellaneous expenses in the city have higher average costs than other cities in South Carolina and around the country.

Breaking down the numbers

Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $79,000, your max monthly budget for rent and utilities would be about $1,975. The average monthly rent for a 968-sqft apartment in Charleston is $2,010 — putting you over budget.

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how much you can currently afford to spend on buying a home in Charleston, try using SmartAsset’s cost calculator. Factors like your marital status, annual pre-tax income, down payment, and monthly debt will help determine that figure. According to BestPlaces, the median home cost in the Holy City is $493,200.

While we’re crunching numbers, let’s also take a look at the chart below to see how Charleston’s cost of living compares to that of Soda City. Hey, COLAtoday.

We also took a look at the cost of living in Charleston compared to Greenville. Hey, GVLtoday. Here’s what we found:

The cost of living is 11% lower in Greenville.
To maintain our standard of living, we’ll need a household income of $70,455 in Greenville.
The median cost of rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,259, which is $450 less than in Charleston.

Interested in seeing Charleston’s cost of living compared to cities in other states? We played around on Nerdwallet’s cost of living calculator, where you can put in any city along with your current pre-tax household income to find out what other cities are affordable for you to live in.

Local housing + developments

Charleston has entities such as the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Palmetto Community Land Trust + other government-funded programs to help develop more affordable units.

There are also a number of local organizations working on apartments seemingly all the time — like the renovation of the former Archer School on Nassau Street, the affordable housing planned for Lowline Park for those earning 30-70% of the area's median income, and North Charleston’s future Battery Park development, which has plans to offer affordable and sustainable workforce housing.

What would you tell someone who is considering moving here about the cost of living? Let us know.