Charleston vs Knoxville Cost of Living
Knoxville is approximately 9.8% cheaper than Charleston. See salary equivalence, taxes, and side-by-side breakdown.
Charleston, SC
Knoxville, TN
| Salary in Charleston | Equivalent in Knoxville | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $45,100 | -$4,900 (-9.8%) |
| $75,000 | $67,600 | -$7,400 (-9.9%) |
| $100,000 | $90,200 | -$9,800 (-9.8%) |
| $150,000 | $135,300 | -$14,700 (-9.8%) |
| $200,000 | $180,400 | -$19,600 (-9.8%) |
Charleston costs about 10% more day to day, but Knoxville has no state income tax while South Carolina does — which can reverse the comparison once you look at take-home rather than sticker prices.
Housing does most of the damage
Strip out housing and most US metros cost about the same. Housing is where the difference lives. A one-bedroom runs about $1,650 a month in Charleston and $1,150 in Knoxville — $500 a month apart, or $6,000 a year.
Ownership widens the gap. $470,000 buys the median home in Charleston; $320,000 does in Knoxville. The down payment alone differs by roughly $30,000, and that is before South Carolina and Tennessee property tax rates diverge.
Taxes the index leaves out
One of these states taxes income and the other does not — South Carolina does, Tennessee does not. At $100,000 the swing is usually $4,000–$8,000 in what actually reaches your account, and no cost-of-living index captures it.
The offset is rarely free, though. States without an income tax usually recover it elsewhere — property tax rates in Tennessee and sales tax are the usual places to look. If you plan to buy rather than rent, run the property tax number before assuming the no-income-tax state is cheaper.
Work, weather, and what else is different
Charleston is a smaller metro of about 0.8M and growing fast; Knoxville is a smaller metro of about 0.9M and growing steadily.
Different economies entirely: aerospace manufacturing, tourism, port/logistics drive Charleston, with Boeing South Carolina (787 assembly) and Joint Base Charleston among the anchors, against higher education/research, healthcare, manufacturing in Knoxville where University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (nearby) dominate. Treat this as a career move as much as a relocation.
Weather is not a rounding error when you actually live somewhere. Charleston: Humid subtropical coastal: January highs near 59°F/lows 40°F, July highs near 90°F/lows 74°F, humid with real hurricane exposure June-November. Knoxville: January highs near 48°F/lows near 30°F; July highs near 87°F/lows near 68°F, humid.
No local income tax, but coastal flooding and hurricane/storm-surge risk are material relocation factors — parts of the peninsula flood during routine high tides. Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, one of the lowest overall tax burdens among mid-size US metros, and sits at the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most-visited national park in the US.
Overall cost ratios come from BEA Regional Price Parities. Housing figures track published market data and local tax rates come from the municipalities themselves. How these are compiled and updated.
Related tools
Paycheck calculator — take-home after federal, state and local tax. Salary calculator — hourly and annual conversion. Mortgage calculator — what a home in either metro actually costs monthly. Guide: the true cost of relocating.