Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Carolina vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary

South Carolina is 26.7% cheaper than District of Columbia.

Restaurants: pay 18.1% less in South Carolina
Groceries: pay 20.8% less in South Carolina
Transportation: pay 21.0% less in South Carolina
Housing: pay 19.7% less in South Carolina
Childcare: pay 42.2% less in South Carolina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.9% less in South Carolina
Clothing: pay 28.3% less in South Carolina

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, groceries, and housing are lower in South Carolina.

South Carolina vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Carolina instead of District of Columbia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.1% less for restaurants

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.00	$17.57	-29.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$10.40	-13.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.78	$2.41	-13.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22	$1.86	-16.1%
Average			-18.1%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.8% less for groceries

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Bread 1 loaf	$4.34	$3.02	-30.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.84	$4.99	-36.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.14	$3.25	-21.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.91	$2.94	-24.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.73	$4.81	-28.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70	$2.50	-7.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85	$0.81	-4.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.46	$2.11	-14.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59	$1.90	-26.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55	$1.25	-19.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.61	$1.37	-14.6%
Average			-20.8%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.0% less for transportation

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66	$3.08	-15.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$75.00	$49.00	-34.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,699.74	$30,676.82	-14.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.88	$19.29	-19.2%
Average			-21.0%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.7% less for housing

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.46	$63.14	-5.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,582.95	$1,510.93	-41.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,028.70	$1,398.21	-31.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$146.65	$144.70	-1.3%
Average			-19.7%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of housing

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pay 42.2% less for childcare

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,273.25	$1,335.89	-41.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$38,250.00	$21,679.50	-43.3%
Average			-42.2%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.9% less for entertainment and sports

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$4.79	-40.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.55	$5.08	-8.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.75	$7.37	-37.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.36	$29.76	-72.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18	$12.57	-26.8%
Average			-36.9%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.3% less for clothing

	District of Columbia	South Carolina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.13	$45.07	-39.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.77	$39.58	-22.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.47	$89.11	-15.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$178.48	$113.24	-36.6%
Average			-28.3%

District of Columbia vs. South Carolina - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025

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