South Carolina by the numbers
In South Carolina, the median worker earns $44,760 a year, the typical home is worth $236,700 and carries $1,199 of property tax, and the average household pays $164 a month for electricity at 16.18¢ per kilowatt-hour.
South Southeast (non-RTO) Regulated monopoly
Energy
South Carolina's rate story is inseparable from the V.C. Summer expansion, two nuclear units abandoned mid-construction after billions had been spent. The political and legal aftermath reshaped the state's utility landscape, forced the sale of the utility responsible, and left an unresolved question about how much of the cost ratepayers ultimately bear. Legislation reduced the burden substantially, but not to zero.
Beyond that, the fundamentals are good. The existing V.C. Summer unit and the Oconee station supply low-cost nuclear energy, and the state has a growing solar fleet. South Carolina's rate sits below the national average despite the stranded-cost overhang.
Delivery costs are moderate. Coastal storm exposure adds hardening spending, but the state's distribution network is comparatively young thanks to steady population growth.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, South Carolina households used 1,061 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $164. At the state median wage that is about 7.6 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, a heat pump costs less to run than gas here, by about $2.31 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median South Carolina worker earned $44,760 in 2024, 9.6% below the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers | 9.44× | $42,920 |
| Nuclear Technicians | 8.58× | $105,300 |
| Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 8.53× | $39,680 |
| Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders | 7.2× | $40,820 |
| Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 6.08× | $38,780 |
Property tax
The median South Carolina homeowner pays $1,199 a year on a home worth $236,700, an effective rate of 0.51% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 46 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in South Carolina run at 93.7 where the national average is 100, ranking it #33 of 51. Goods sit at 96.3, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 80.5, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $44,760 therefore buys what $47,769 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Charleston-North Charleston (101.0) , Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal (98.0) , Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia (97.3) , Columbia (93.7) , Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach (93.6) .
Housing
House prices in South Carolina rose 2.3% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +117.5%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Metro areas tracked here: Charleston-North Charleston (+6.4%) , Columbia (+2.0%) , Greenville-Anderson-Greer (+1.6%) , Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia (-0.1%) .
Who supplies the power
29 utilities report residential service in South Carolina, together serving 2.5 million customers. Regulated monopoly.
South Carolina: common questions
What does it cost to live in South Carolina?
Prices overall run at 93.7 against a national average of 100, with rents at 80.5. The typical home is worth $236,700 and carries $1,199 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.51% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $164 a month at 16.18¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $44,760.
What is the property tax rate in South Carolina?
The effective rate is 0.51% of home value, from a median bill of $1,199. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 46 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in South Carolina?
The median wage of $44,760 buys what $47,769 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line South Carolina falls on.
Is South Carolina expensive for electricity?
It ranks #27 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 16.18¢ per kilowatt-hour, -12.3% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 15 of 51, because households there use 1,061 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in South Carolina?
$44,760 across all occupations, about $21.52 an hour, covering 2,271,770 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in South Carolina?
29 utilities report residential service, the largest being Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc with 696,385 customers. Regulated monopoly.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources