Connecticut vs South Carolina

Enter your annual household income to compare its purchasing power between the two states.

Your $100,000 in Connecticut is worth

$96,525

at national prices · RPP 103.6BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in South Carolina is worth

$106,724

at national prices · RPP 93.7BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes +$10,199 further in South Carolina (+10.6% purchasing power).

Show the math
adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)
Connecticut: $100,000 ÷ (103.6 ÷ 100) = $96,525
South Carolina: $100,000 ÷ (93.7 ÷ 100) = $106,724
difference: $106,724 − $96,525 = +$10,199

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
ComponentConnecticutSouth CarolinaDifference
All items103.693.7−9.6%
Housing rents117.080.5−31.2%
Goods97.396.3−1.0%
Utilities146.588.3−39.7%
Other services102.798.3−4.3%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

ConnecticutMedian rent$1,488/moMedian home$366,900
South CarolinaMedian rent$1,180/moMedian home$259,000

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
TaxConnecticutSouth Carolina
Income tax (top rate)6.99%6.00%
Sales tax (combined avg)6.35%7.49%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

Connecticut vs South Carolina: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from Connecticut to South Carolina and its purchasing power changes from $96,525 to $106,724 in national-average terms — a gain of $10,199. South Carolina is the cheaper of the two, running at 93.7 on the price index versus 103.6.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is utilities: Connecticut sits at 146.5 and South Carolina at 88.3 (100 = national). South Carolina has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,488 in Connecticut against $1,180 in South Carolina, and the typical home $366,900 versus $259,000. South Carolina is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, Connecticut has 6.99% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 6.35%; South Carolina has 6.00% top income tax and 7.49%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

Full profiles: Connecticut ·South Carolina. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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