Moving to South Carolina from Ohio
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Ohio to South Carolina — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Ohio to South Carolina, you would find that South Carolina is 14.8% more expensive than Ohio. A $75,000 salary in Ohio would need to be roughly $86,100 in South Carolina to maintain the same lifestyle. Columbus and Charleston are about 520 mi apart.
Is South Carolina cheaper than Ohio?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 12.4% more
Groceries
pay 24.3% more
Transportation
pay 11.8% less
Housing
pay 32.3% more
Childcare
pay 3.2% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.5% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in South Carolina?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $86,100
To maintain the same standard of living in South Carolina
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
How Ohio and South Carolina stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Ohio performs better than South Carolina across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
South Carolina generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Ohio leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Ohio generally does better on what about housing?, though South Carolina leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Ohio performs better than South Carolina across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Ohio performs better than South Carolina across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Ohio performs better than South Carolina across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in South Carolina vs Ohio
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Columbus | Charleston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) | 61°/47°F (16°/8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) | 79°/67°F (26°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) | 85°/75°F (30°/24°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) | 67°/54°F (20°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Columbus | Charleston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) | 57°/43°F (13.7°/6.0°C) |
| Feb | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.5°C) |
| Mar | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) | 65°/52°F (18.3°/10.9°C) |
| Apr | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) | 72°/59°F (22.2°/14.9°C) |
| May | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) | 79°/67°F (25.9°/19.5°C) |
| Jun | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) | 85°/74°F (29.2°/23.3°C) |
| Jul | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) | 88°/77°F (30.9°/24.9°C) |
| Aug | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) | 86°/76°F (30.2°/24.5°C) |
| Sep | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) | 82°/72°F (27.8°/22.1°C) |
| Oct | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) | 75°/62°F (23.7°/16.9°C) |
| Nov | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) | 67°/54°F (19.6°/12.0°C) |
| Dec | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in South Carolina than Ohio?
Day-to-day costs in South Carolina run about 15% higher than Ohio on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to South Carolina?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $21,525 in South Carolina for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is South Carolina safe?
Ohio performs better than South Carolina across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in South Carolina compared to Ohio?
South Carolina generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Ohio leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in South Carolina compared to Ohio?
The average high temperature in Charleston is 73°F, compared to 76°F in Columbus. Charleston receives around 44.4 in of rainfall per year, while Columbus gets 46.8 in.
