Texas vs South Carolina: cost of living compared
Statewide price levels and incomes from BEA (2024); gas prices from EIA (weekly).
Is it cheaper to live in Texas or South Carolina?
- Overall, South Carolina is 3.4% less expensive than Texas (BEA, 2024).
- To keep the same standard of living, $75,000 in Texas works out to about $72,400 in South Carolina, before taxes.
- Most of the difference is housing, which costs 16.6% less in South Carolina. Goods are 1.8% lower and other services 1.2% higher.
- After adjusting for local prices, personal income per person is $52,463 in South Carolina and $58,219 in Texas (9.9% lower in South Carolina; BEA, 2024, in 2017 dollars).
- Inside each state, metro price levels run from 86.8 in Florence, SC to 101.0 in Charleston, SC (South Carolina) and from 83.8 in Eagle Pass, TX to 103.1 in Dallas, TX (Texas), US = 100.
- The gap has narrowed since 2019, when South Carolina was 7.1% less expensive than Texas.
derived Calculated from BEA Regional Price Parities and real personal income by state. Statewide averages mix cities and rural areas; taxes are not included. How we calculate.
Category by category
Both states against the US average (100).
Housing drives the gap: 16.6% lower in South Carolina than in Texas
Price level by category, 2024. US average = 100.
- Texas
- South Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| All items | 97.1 | 93.7 |
| Goods | 98.1 | 96.3 |
| Housing (rents) | 96.5 | 80.5 |
| Utilities | 87.5 | 88.3 |
| Other services | 97.1 | 98.3 |
| Category | Texas | South Carolina | South Carolina vs Texas |
|---|---|---|---|
| All items | 97.1 | 93.7 | −3.4% |
| Goods | 98.1 | 96.3 | −1.8% |
| Housing (rents) | 96.5 | 80.5 | −16.6% |
| Utilities | 87.5 | 88.3 | +0.9% |
| Other services | 97.1 | 98.3 | +1.2% |
| Income per person, adjusted for prices | $58,219 | $52,463 | −9.9% |
| Regular gas, week of October 19, 2026* | $3.70 | $3.86 | +4.2% |
| Salary to match $75,000 in Texas | $75,000 | $72,400 | −3.4% |
Index values: BEA, 2024, US = 100. Income: BEA real personal income per person, 2017 dollars. Gas: EIA weekly retail prices. *Lower Atlantic region average (EIA has no separate South Carolina figure).
Cheapest and most expensive places in each state
Texas
- Eagle Pass, TX 83.8
- Texarkana, TX 84.0
- McAllen, TX 85.9
- Brownsville, TX 86.0
- Laredo, TX 87.0
- Longview, TX 89.5
- Wichita Falls, TX 89.5
- Victoria, TX 89.8
- El Paso, TX 89.9
- Beaumont, TX 90.0
- Abilene, TX 90.4
- College Station, TX 91.0
- Killeen, TX 91.1
- Lubbock, TX 91.3
- Amarillo, TX 91.8
- Tyler, TX 92.2
- San Angelo, TX 92.5
- Waco, TX 92.6
- Corpus Christi, TX 92.7
- Sherman, TX 93.8
- Odessa, TX 93.9
- San Antonio, TX 94.7
- Midland, TX 95.8
- Austin, TX 98.1
- Houston, TX 98.6
- Dallas, TX 103.1
South Carolina
- Florence, SC 86.8
- Sumter, SC 88.0
- Spartanburg, SC 91.1
- Augusta, GA 91.9
- Greenville, SC 93.3
- Myrtle Beach, SC 93.6
- Columbia, SC 93.7
- Charlotte, NC 97.3
- Hilton Head Island, SC 98.0
- Charleston, SC 101.0
Metro areas ordered from cheapest to most expensive. BEA, 2024, US = 100.
How the gap has changed since 2008
The price gap between Texas and South Carolina has narrowed since 2008: 5.1 points then, 3.3 now
Overall price level each year, 2008–2024. US average = 100.
- Texas
- South Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.1 | 92.0 |
| 2009 | 96.7 | 91.0 |
| 2010 | 97.7 | 92.7 |
| 2011 | 97.0 | 93.2 |
| 2012 | 97.7 | 93.4 |
| 2013 | 98.1 | 93.3 |
| 2014 | 98.4 | 93.2 |
| 2015 | 98.3 | 93.3 |
| 2016 | 98.1 | 93.6 |
| 2017 | 97.4 | 92.8 |
| 2018 | 97.8 | 92.2 |
| 2019 | 98.5 | 91.5 |
| 2020 | 98.8 | 90.9 |
| 2021 | 98.4 | 93.6 |
| 2022 | 97.4 | 93.3 |
| 2023 | 97.1 | 93.5 |
| 2024 | 97.1 | 93.7 |
Goods
- Texas
- South Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.1 | 96.7 |
| 2009 | 96.1 | 94.1 |
| 2010 | 98.1 | 96.7 |
| 2011 | 96.5 | 96.1 |
| 2012 | 97.6 | 95.3 |
| 2013 | 97.6 | 96.0 |
| 2014 | 97.4 | 96.1 |
| 2015 | 97.1 | 95.1 |
| 2016 | 98.4 | 95.9 |
| 2017 | 97.1 | 95.6 |
| 2018 | 97.1 | 95.3 |
| 2019 | 97.9 | 95.7 |
| 2020 | 98.2 | 95.4 |
| 2021 | 98.5 | 96.1 |
| 2022 | 97.2 | 94.5 |
| 2023 | 98.1 | 95.9 |
| 2024 | 98.1 | 96.3 |
Housing (rents)
- Texas
- South Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 88.0 | 72.5 |
| 2009 | 88.2 | 74.6 |
| 2010 | 89.3 | 74.6 |
| 2011 | 89.7 | 75.3 |
| 2012 | 91.1 | 75.7 |
| 2013 | 91.4 | 74.3 |
| 2014 | 93.6 | 73.4 |
| 2015 | 94.0 | 74.6 |
| 2016 | 95.6 | 73.9 |
| 2017 | 95.2 | 74.0 |
| 2018 | 95.2 | 73.9 |
| 2019 | 95.8 | 74.4 |
| 2020 | 95.8 | 74.6 |
| 2021 | 95.6 | 76.1 |
| 2022 | 97.0 | 78.7 |
| 2023 | 97.5 | 80.5 |
| 2024 | 96.5 | 80.5 |
Utilities
- Texas
- South Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 101.4 | 86.1 |
| 2009 | 96.2 | 87.2 |
| 2010 | 98.1 | 89.4 |
| 2011 | 94.4 | 91.2 |
| 2012 | 93.1 | 95.0 |
| 2013 | 95.7 | 94.7 |
| 2014 | 94.9 | 97.4 |
| 2015 | 91.1 | 97.8 |
| 2016 | 91.9 | 96.9 |
| 2017 | 88.0 | 94.5 |
| 2018 | 87.5 | 93.2 |
| 2019 | 87.7 | 96.0 |
| 2020 | 85.0 | 93.7 |
| 2021 | 86.2 | 90.7 |
| 2022 | 88.7 | 89.2 |
| 2023 | 92.4 | 85.8 |
| 2024 | 87.5 | 88.3 |
Other services
- Texas
- South Carolina
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024 (US = 100).
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 100.0 | 97.6 |
| 2009 | 100.4 | 96.4 |
| 2010 | 100.3 | 98.2 |
| 2011 | 100.1 | 99.5 |
| 2012 | 100.4 | 99.9 |
| 2013 | 101.0 | 99.9 |
| 2014 | 101.1 | 99.7 |
| 2015 | 101.1 | 100.2 |
| 2016 | 99.0 | 100.7 |
| 2017 | 98.9 | 99.0 |
| 2018 | 99.8 | 97.9 |
| 2019 | 100.5 | 95.7 |
| 2020 | 101.3 | 95.0 |
| 2021 | 100.0 | 99.9 |
| 2022 | 98.2 | 99.4 |
| 2023 | 96.6 | 97.9 |
| 2024 | 97.1 | 98.3 |
What incomes buy in each state
Income per person after adjusting for prices: $52,463 in South Carolina, $58,219 in Texas
Real personal income per person, constant 2017 dollars (adjusted for each state's price level and for inflation).
- Texas
- South Carolina
- United States
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, real personal income by state (SARPI), 2008–2024.
Show the numbers
| Texas | South Carolina | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $46,068 | $40,414 | $45,816 |
| 2009 | $43,349 | $39,564 | $44,204 |
| 2010 | $44,078 | $39,099 | $44,808 |
| 2011 | $46,663 | $39,842 | $45,957 |
| 2012 | $47,554 | $40,612 | $46,796 |
| 2013 | $47,301 | $40,250 | $46,358 |
| 2014 | $48,959 | $41,750 | $47,661 |
| 2015 | $48,983 | $43,683 | $49,396 |
| 2016 | $47,686 | $44,377 | $49,828 |
| 2017 | $49,918 | $45,761 | $51,006 |
| 2018 | $51,551 | $46,643 | $52,242 |
| 2019 | $52,343 | $48,823 | $53,683 |
| 2020 | $53,181 | $51,406 | $56,514 |
| 2021 | $56,442 | $52,444 | $59,365 |
| 2022 | $56,452 | $50,407 | $57,104 |
| 2023 | $57,708 | $51,320 | $58,088 |
| 2024 | $58,219 | $52,463 | $59,195 |
More
- Cost of living in Texas
- Cost of living in South Carolina
- Reverse: moving from South Carolina to Texas
- All states ranked
Related state comparisons
What this comparison leaves out
- Taxes. State income, sales and property taxes differ a lot between states and are not included.
- Where you live inside the state. Statewide figures average cities and rural areas; the metro lists above show the spread.
- Your own spending mix. The default uses an average household. Use the housing slider if housing is a bigger share of your budget.
- Timing. BEA price levels and incomes are for 2024; gas prices are weekly.