Maryland
High tax burden · COL index 116
Wins 7 categories
South Carolina
Moderate tax burden · COL index 93
Wins 5 categories
Cost of living in Maryland (index 116) runs 25% higher than South Carolina (index 93). Property taxes are meaningfully different: Maryland averages 0.97% annually vs South Carolina's 0.43%. The median home in Maryland costs $420K vs $310K in South Carolina. Politically, South Carolina voted Republican in 2024 (R+13.0) while Maryland went Democratic (D+24.0).
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
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Healthcare
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Utilities & Daily Costs
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Category wins
7
Maryland
5
South Carolina
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Is it cheaper to live in Maryland or South Carolina?
Overall cost of living in Columbia, SC is 10.5% lower than in Baltimore, MD. The average listing price for a home in Columbia, SC is $345,221, which is 18.3% lower than Baltimore, MD. The average cost of groceries in Columbia, SC is 3.5% lower than Baltimore, MD.
What are the drawbacks of living in South Carolina?
Is SC more Republican or Democrat?
Presently, South Carolina's government is formed as a representative democracy. South Carolina is a largely conservative, Republican state.
Where is the dark corner in SC?
Since early in the nineteenth century, extreme northeastern Greenville County, especially the remote, rugged environs of Glassy and Hogback Mountains, has been known as the “Dark Corner.” Although opened to settlement following the Revolutionary War, the area remained sparsely populated well into the twentieth century.