South Carolina vs Florida

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

Your $100,000 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

The same income in Florida is worth

$96,712

at national prices · RPP 103.4BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes −$10,012 less far in Florida (−9.4% purchasing power).

Show the math
adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)
South Carolina: $100,000 ÷ (93.7 ÷ 100) = $106,724
Florida: $100,000 ÷ (103.4 ÷ 100) = $96,712
difference: $96,712 − $106,724 = −$10,012

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.
ComponentSouth CarolinaFloridaDifference
All items93.7103.4+10.4%
Housing rents80.5122.1+51.7%
Goods96.398.1+1.9%
Utilities88.390.1+2.0%
Other services98.3101.3+3.1%

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.

South CarolinaMedian rent$1,180/moMedian home$259,000
FloridaMedian rent$1,669/moMedian home$359,000

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.
TaxSouth CarolinaFlorida
Income tax (top rate)6.00%None
Sales tax (combined avg)7.49%6.98%

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 →

South Carolina vs Florida: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from South Carolina to Florida and its purchasing power changes from $106,724 to $96,712 in national-average terms — a loss of $10,012. South Carolina is the cheaper of the two, running at 93.7 on the price index versus 103.4.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: South Carolina sits at 80.5 and Florida at 122.1 (100 = national). South Carolina has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,180 in South Carolina against $1,669 in Florida, and the typical home $259,000 versus $359,000. South Carolina is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, South Carolina has 6.00% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 7.49%; Florida has no wage income tax and 6.98%. That income-tax difference can outweigh a chunk of the cost-of-living gap for higher earners.

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

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