Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Carolina vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

South Carolina is 36.3% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.6% less in South Carolina
Groceries: pay 6.8% less in South Carolina
Transportation: pay 52.3% less in South Carolina
Housing: pay 10.1% less in South Carolina
Childcare: pay 46.3% less in South Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.2% less in South Carolina
Clothing: pay 51.6% less in South Carolina

Expenses including transportation, clothing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in South Carolina.

South Carolina vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Carolina instead of Switzerland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 46.6% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$32.37 CHF26.02	$19.17	-40.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.82 CHF15.13	$11.16	-40.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.26 CHF4.23	$2.65	-49.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.76 CHF3.83	$2.13	-55.3%
Average			-46.6%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.8% less for groceries

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$3.73 CHF2.99	$3.44	-7.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.66 CHF11.79	$5.99	-59.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.19 CHF6.59	$3.54	-56.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.43 CHF5.97	$4.18	-43.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$14.43 CHF11.60	$5.64	-61.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.69 CHF1.36	$2.64	+56.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 CHF0.89	$0.76	-31.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.35 CHF1.08	$2.49	+84.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.94 CHF2.36	$2.31	-21.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 CHF0.94	$1.63	+40.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CHF0.88	$1.38	+25.5%
Average			-6.8%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.3% less for transportation

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.41 CHF6.76	$2.88	-65.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$119.36 CHF95.96	$46.17	-61.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,637.10 CHF32,669.26	$33,190.90	-18.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$45.06 CHF36.22	$16.34	-63.7%
Average			-52.3%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.1% less for housing

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.20 CHF47.59	$66.47	+12.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,797.02 CHF1,444.67	$1,589.94	-11.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,562.03 CHF1,255.75	$1,366.92	-12.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$197.97 CHF159.15	$141.20	-28.7%
Average			-10.1%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 46.3% less for childcare

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,700.86 CHF2,171.30	$1,346.85	-50.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$33,359.10 CHF26,818.28	$19,168.15	-42.5%
Average			-46.3%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.73 CHF7.01	$5.29	-39.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.04 CHF4.86	$5.17	-14.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.28 CHF9.07	$7.67	-32.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$101.44 CHF81.55	$32.75	-67.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$24.10 CHF19.37	$12.71	-47.3%
Average			-40.2%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.6% less for clothing

	Switzerland	South Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$142.30 CHF114.40	$50.06	-64.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.55 CHF56.71	$35.86	-49.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$162.86 CHF130.93	$84.43	-48.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$202.63 CHF162.90	$112.81	-44.3%
Average			-51.6%

Switzerland vs. South Carolina - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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