Compare / Bridgeport to Columbia
Bridgeport, CT vs Columbia, SC
Simple answer
You'd likely save $1,173 a month in Columbia.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $1,173: Bridgeport is higher at $2,399 versus $1,226.
Connecticut taxes wages at rates up to 6.99%. South Carolina taxes wages at rates up to 6.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.1 percentage points, higher in South Carolina. The effective property tax gap is 1.21 percentage points, higher in Connecticut.
After a move from Connecticut to South Carolina, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Marketplace premium tax credits, Medicaid and CHIP.
A $75,000 salary in Bridgeport lines up with about $65,734 in Columbia on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Bridgeport
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,399
- HUD area
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,895
- All-items price parity
- 106.9
- Goods price parity
- 97.3
- Utilities price parity
- 147.1
- Mean commute
- 32.3 min
- Median household income
- $116,402
Columbia
Columbia, SC
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,226
- HUD area
- Columbia, SC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,257
- All-items price parity
- 93.7
- Goods price parity
- 96.3
- Utilities price parity
- 88.3
- Mean commute
- 25.8 min
- Median household income
- $70,788
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$65,734
Salary in Columbia that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$65,113
Gross salary in Columbia whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$38,328
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Connecticut | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | up to 6.99% | up to 6.00% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 6.3% | 7.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.66% | 0.45% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $6,624 a year in Connecticut and $1,786 in South Carolina. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in South Carolina
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Connecticut and once in South Carolina. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
WIC
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
School meals
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
LIHEAP
BridgeportMaybe
ColumbiaMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
BridgeportUnlikely
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
BridgeportLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
SSI
BridgeportUnlikely
ColumbiaUnlikely
| Program | Bridgeport | Columbia |
|---|---|---|
| Food stamps (SNAP) | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Bridgeport the result is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” In Columbia it is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” Connecticut expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.
Related comparisons
From Bridgeport
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Bridgeport.
- Bridgeport and McAllen · rent gap $1,382
- Bridgeport and Wichita · rent gap $1,356
- Bridgeport and San Francisco · rent gap $1,298
- Bridgeport and Little Rock · rent gap $1,278
- Bridgeport and Toledo · rent gap $1,254
- Bridgeport and El Paso · rent gap $1,253
- Bridgeport and Baton Rouge · rent gap $1,250
- Bridgeport and Tulsa · rent gap $1,170
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.