South Carolina vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

South Carolina is 14.4% cheaper than Hong Kong overall.

Restaurants
pay 2.0 times more in South Carolina
Groceries
pay 0.6% more in South Carolina
Transportation
pay 51.0% less in South Carolina
Housing
pay 21.1% less in South Carolina
Childcare
pay 2.9% less in South Carolina
Entertainment and Sports
pay 29.0% less in South Carolina
Clothing
pay 10.2% less in South Carolina

The cost of restaurants and groceries in South Carolina are more expensive than in Hong Kong. Expenses including transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and childcare are lower in South Carolina. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in South Carolina.

South Carolina vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Carolina instead of Hong Kong, you would:

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.28
HK$65.00
$18.26
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.37
HK$50.00
$11.29
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.30
HK$10.24
$2.75
 

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pay 0.6% more for groceries

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Bread
1 loaf
$2.37
HK$18.59
$3.57
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $12.52
HK$98.23
$6.52
 
Milk (1 gallon) $11.07
HK$86.91
$3.54
 

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pay 51.0% less for transportation

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon) $15.51
HK$121.73
$3.43
 
Monthly public transit pass $89.19
HK$700.01
$57.12
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $44,597.12
HK$350K
$33,498.60
 

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pay 21.1% less for housing

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$21.52
HK$168.90
$69.68
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,207.41
HK$17,324.05
$1,550.07
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,690.00
HK$13,263.34
$1,238.74
 

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pay 2.9% less for childcare

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,171.99
HK$9,197.98
$1,378.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,295.74
HK$175K
$17,884.58
 

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pay 29.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.65
HK$60.00
$5.65
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
HK$39.56
$5.60
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.38
HK$105.00
$8.89
 

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pay 10.2% less for clothing

 
Hong Kong
South Carolina
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$67.63
HK$530.78
$49.47
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.11
HK$322.62
$37.12
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$80.54
HK$632.08
$89.72
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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