Moving to South Carolina from Tennessee
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Tennessee to South Carolina — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Tennessee to South Carolina, you would find that South Carolina is 4.2% more expensive than Tennessee. A $75,000 salary in Tennessee would need to be roughly $78,100 in South Carolina to maintain the same lifestyle. Nashville and Charleston are about 450 mi apart.
Is South Carolina cheaper than Tennessee?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 2.4% more
Groceries
pay 15.2% more
Transportation
pay 5.6% more
Housing
pay 3.0% more
Childcare
pay 1.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.4% less
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 → $78,100
To maintain the same standard of living in South Carolina
Calculate with your salary →Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Tennessee to South Carolina.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
South Carolina performs significantly better than Tennessee 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 performs significantly better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
South Carolina generally does better on what about housing?, though Tennessee leads in median rent.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Tennessee generally does better on infrastructure, though South Carolina leads in average commute.
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
Tennessee 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
South Carolina performs significantly better than Tennessee 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 Tennessee
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Nashville | Charleston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 53°/33°F (12°/1°C) | 61°/47°F (16°/8°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 78°/56°F (26°/14°C) | 79°/67°F (26°/19°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 87°/66°F (30°/19°C) | 85°/75°F (30°/24°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 60°/40°F (16°/4°C) | 67°/54°F (20°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | Nashville | Charleston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47°/28°F (8.3°/-2.0°C) | 57°/43°F (13.7°/6.0°C) |
| Feb | 52°/32°F (11.0°/-0.2°C) | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.5°C) |
| Mar | 61°/39°F (16.1°/3.9°C) | 65°/52°F (18.3°/10.9°C) |
| Apr | 71°/47°F (21.4°/8.6°C) | 72°/59°F (22.2°/14.9°C) |
| May | 78°/57°F (25.7°/13.8°C) | 79°/67°F (25.9°/19.5°C) |
| Jun | 86°/65°F (30.0°/18.6°C) | 85°/74°F (29.2°/23.3°C) |
| Jul | 89°/69°F (31.8°/20.8°C) | 88°/77°F (30.9°/24.9°C) |
| Aug | 89°/68°F (31.7°/20.2°C) | 86°/76°F (30.2°/24.5°C) |
| Sep | 82°/61°F (28.0°/15.9°C) | 82°/72°F (27.8°/22.1°C) |
| Oct | 72°/49°F (22.1°/9.4°C) | 75°/62°F (23.7°/16.9°C) |
| Nov | 60°/39°F (15.7°/4.1°C) | 67°/54°F (19.6°/12.0°C) |
| Dec | 49°/31°F (9.7°/-0.4°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 Tennessee?
No — South Carolina is on average about 4% more expensive than Tennessee. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to South Carolina?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $19,525 in South Carolina on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is South Carolina safe?
South Carolina performs significantly better than Tennessee across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in South Carolina compared to Tennessee?
South Carolina performs significantly better than Tennessee across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in South Carolina compared to Tennessee?
The average high temperature in Charleston is 73°F, compared to 70°F in Nashville. Charleston receives around 44.4 in of rainfall per year, while Nashville gets 47.2 in.
