Charleston composite
33.0 /100
Grade F · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Charleston vs Florence
Charleston-North Charleston, SC and Florence, SC side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 33.0
- Charleston Life Score
- F
- Charleston grade
- 50.3
- Florence Life Score
- B-
- Florence grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Charleston scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Florence on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Charleston Florence ◗
cost of living
17
92
wages
68
30
rent
15
82
safety
19
18
schools
30
31
childcare
71
71
environment
7
7
Charleston and Florence differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Charleston has a cost-of-living index of 101.0 vs Florence's 86.8 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $67,686 in Charleston and $60,956 in Florence. A 2-bedroom averages $1,787/mo vs $1,098/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Charleston vs Florence Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Charleston and Florence works out to $8,268 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Charleston carries the same local purchasing power as $85,947 in Florence - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 439.3 per 100,000 residents in SC vs 439.3 in SC, with property-crime rates of 1988.2 and 1988.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: SC lists 1,215 public schools at a 13.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while SC lists 1,215 schools at 13.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,732/yr in the Charleston area versus $7,732/yr in Florence - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Charleston and Florence are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Florence composite
50.3 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Florence cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Charleston safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Charleston
Charleston composite (Grade F)
Florence
Florence composite (Grade B-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Charleston | Florence |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 101.0 | 86.8 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.3 |
| Services | 88.2 | 87.7 |
| Rents | 119.8 | 52.4 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Florence gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Charleston?
$
Equivalent in Florence:
$85,947
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Charleston: 101.0, Florence: 86.8, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Charleston | Florence |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,557/mo | $850/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,630/mo | $856/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,787/mo | $1,098/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,222/mo | $1,317/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,562/mo | $1,499/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Charleston | Florence |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $67,686 | $60,956 |
| Total Employment | 381,130 | 82,440 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Charleston (SC) | Florence (SC) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 439.3 | 439.3 |
| Property Crime | 1988.2 | 1988.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,215 | 1,215 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.8:1 | 13.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 7.2% | 7.2% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,732/yr | $7,732/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,449/yr | $7,449/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,402/yr | $7,402/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 660 | 660 |
| Water Systems | 558 | 558 |
| Superfund Sites | 34 | 34 |
| Water Violations | 720 | 720 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Charleston | Florence |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 47.0 | 46.0 |
| Good Air Days | 60.3% | 62.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 45/100 | 45/100 |
| Total Violations | 38,355 | 38,355 |
| Health-Based Violations | 9,705 | 9,705 |
| Systems with Violations | 65.3% | 65.3% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 16/100 | 16/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 83.9% | 83.9% |
| HPSA Designations | 267 | 267 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 36/100 | 36/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 70.7 | 70.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 65.2 | 65.2 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Charleston more expensive than Florence? ▼
Charleston has a cost of living index of 101.0 compared to Florence's 86.8 (national average = 100). Charleston is 14.2 points above Florence on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Charleston and Florence? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,787/mo in Charleston vs $1,098/mo in Florence, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,557/mo to $850/mo.
How do salaries compare between Charleston and Florence? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $67,686 in Charleston and $60,956 in Florence, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Charleston has the same purchasing power as $85,947 in Florence.
Is Charleston or Florence safer? ▼
At the state level, SC has a violent crime rate of 439.3 per 100,000 residents compared to SC's 439.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1988.2 vs 1988.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Charleston and Florence? ▼
SC has 1,215 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.8:1, while SC has 1,215 schools at 13.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.2% of SC schools vs 7.2% in SC. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare