Route comparison
San Francisco, CA vs Columbia, SC: Cost of Living
Compare San Francisco, CA 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.
San Francisco, CA
CA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 115.613
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 194.718
- 2024 goods RPP
- 108.465
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $3,697/mo
BEA: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). HUD: San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area (Marin County, San Francisco County, San Mateo County). These historical rows were checked September 14, 2026.
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 San Francisco, CA by about 19.0% (RPP 115.613 to 93.662).
$60,000 in San Francisco, CA
-> $48,608
in Columbia, SC
$100,000 in San Francisco, CA
-> $81,013
in Columbia, SC
$150,000 in San Francisco, CA
-> $121,520
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: San Francisco, CA vs Columbia, SC
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023San Francisco, CA
- Net people
- −31,047
- Net rank
- #61 of 65
- Top origin share
- 24%
- Top destination share
- 13%
Largest source: Santa Clara County, CA. Largest destination: Santa Clara County, CA.
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 $2,471/mo lower for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than San Francisco, CA. Housing RPP moves from 194.718 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 San Francisco, CA?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, Columbia, SC (RPP 93.662) has an overall price level about 19.0% lower than San Francisco, CA (RPP 115.613). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in Columbia, SC if I earn $100,000 in San Francisco, CA?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $81,013 in Columbia, SC, using $100,000 x (93.662 / 115.613). 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, San Francisco, CA or Columbia, SC?
- For 2022-2023, San Francisco, CA had a net loss of 31,047 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.