Route comparison
Raleigh, NC vs Columbia, SC: Cost of Living
Compare Raleigh, NC and Columbia, SC using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
Raleigh, NC
NC
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 98.157
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 103.476
- 2024 goods RPP
- 96.621
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,689/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Columbia, SC
SC
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 93.662
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 79.455
- 2024 goods RPP
- 96.339
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $1,226/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Columbia, SC has a lower overall price level than Raleigh, NC by about 4.6% (RPP 98.157 to 93.662).
$60,000 in Raleigh, NC
-> $57,252
in Columbia, SC
$100,000 in Raleigh, NC
-> $95,421
in Columbia, SC
$150,000 in Raleigh, NC
-> $143,131
in Columbia, SC
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: Raleigh, NC vs Columbia, SC
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023Raleigh, NC
- Net people
- +11,275
- Net rank
- #10 of 65
- Top origin share
- 11%
- Top destination share
- 11%
Largest source: Durham County, NC. Largest destination: Durham County, NC.
Columbia, SC
- Net people
- +2,323
- Net rank
- #23 of 65
- Top origin share
- 6%
- Top destination share
- 6%
Largest source: Mecklenburg County, NC. Largest destination: Mecklenburg County, NC.
Rent delta: Columbia, SC is $463/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than Raleigh, NC. Housing RPP moves from 103.476 to 79.455.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Columbia, SC cheaper or more expensive than Raleigh, NC?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Columbia, SC (RPP 93.662) has an overall price level about 4.6% lower than Raleigh, NC (RPP 98.157). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in Columbia, SC if I earn $100,000 in Raleigh, NC?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $95,421 in Columbia, SC, using $100,000 x (93.662 / 98.157). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, Raleigh, NC or Columbia, SC?
- For 2022-2023, Raleigh, NC had a net gain of 11,275 people, while Columbia, SC had a net gain of 2,323 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.