Compare / Chattanooga to Columbia
Chattanooga, TN vs Columbia, SC
Simple answer
You'd likely save $114 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 $114: Chattanooga is higher at $1,340 versus $1,226.
Tennessee has no tax on wages. South Carolina taxes wages at rates up to 6.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.1 percentage points, higher in Tennessee. The effective property tax gap is 0.00 percentage points, higher in Tennessee.
After a move from Tennessee to South Carolina, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Chattanooga lines up with about $76,802 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.
Chattanooga
Chattanooga, TN-GA
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,340
- HUD area
- Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA
- Census median gross rent
- $1,265
- All-items price parity
- 91.5
- Goods price parity
- 96.0
- Utilities price parity
- 74.2
- Mean commute
- 24.5 min
- Median household income
- $75,076
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.
$76,802
Salary in Columbia that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$82,495
Gross salary in Columbia whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$68,619
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 | Tennessee | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | No wage tax | up to 6.00% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.6% | 7.5% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 0.45% | 0.45% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $1,790 a year in Tennessee 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 Tennessee and once in South Carolina. This is an illustration, not your application.
Food stamps (SNAP)
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Medicaid and CHIP
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
WIC
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
School meals
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
LIHEAP
ChattanoogaMaybe
ColumbiaMaybe
Earned Income Tax Credit
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Child Tax Credit
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Marketplace premium tax credits
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
Lifeline phone and internet
ChattanoogaLikely eligible
ColumbiaLikely eligible
SSI
ChattanoogaUnlikely
ColumbiaUnlikely
| Program | Chattanooga | 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 | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Chattanooga
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Chattanooga.
- Chattanooga and San Francisco · rent gap $2,357
- Chattanooga and San Jose · rent gap $1,932
- Chattanooga and Boston · rent gap $1,668
- Chattanooga and New York · rent gap $1,631
- Chattanooga and Los Angeles · rent gap $1,624
- Chattanooga and San Diego · rent gap $1,483
- Chattanooga and Miami · rent gap $1,224
- Chattanooga and Seattle · rent gap $1,209
Nearby metros
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.