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You'd need $99,600 in North Carolina to hold what $100,000 holds in South Carolina. Here's the same calculation at five income levels.
That's $400 less than what you earn now, after 2026 federal tax, state tax at both ends, and price levels of 93.7 in South Carolina against 94.3 in North Carolina, where 100 is the national average.
Start with the paycheck, because that's the part that changes on day one. The federal price index separates South Carolina and North Carolina by 0.6 points, which is inside the range where the index stops being decisive.
Which means a $100,000 South Carolina salary is held by $99,600 in North Carolina, and the $400 difference is yours to keep or to trade for something else.
Five income levels, each one run through the whole calculation twice. Single filer, standard deduction, 2026 brackets, and each state's own price level applied to what survives.
| South Carolina salary | Take-home there | Real value | North Carolina salary to match | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $48,727 | $52,004 | $60,700 | +$700 |
| $80,000 | $62,121 | $66,298 | $80,100 | +$100 |
| $100,000 | $74,936 | $79,974 | $99,600 | −$400 |
| $150,000 | $106,942 | $114,132 | $148,900 | −$1,100 |
| $200,000 | $139,473 | $148,851 | $198,500 | −$1,500 |
Real value is take-home pay divided by the state price level, which is BEA's own method for comparing incomes across places. It answers what a salary would buy in an average American state, so two very different places can be set side by side on the same terms.
| Salary | South Carolina | North Carolina | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $1,6632.8% | $1,8853.1% | +$223 |
| $80,000 | $2,9893.7% | $2,6833.4% | −$306 |
| $100,000 | $4,2444.2% | $3,4813.5% | −$763 |
| $150,000 | $6,8494.6% | $5,4763.7% | −$1,373 |
| $200,000 | $9,4544.7% | $7,4713.7% | −$1,983 |
South Carolina takes $4,244 of a $100,000 salary, an effective 4.2%. North Carolina takes $3,481, or 3.5%. That's $800 a year less.
That's the position at $100,000, and it doesn't hold across the range. At $60,000 the difference is a $223 cost, and by $200,000 it has turned into a $1,983 saving. The two schedules cross, which is why the table is there and a single number isn't.
Price parity is BEA's measure of what the same basket costs in different places, with 100 as the national average. South Carolina scores 93.7 and North Carolina scores 94.3, which is close enough that the index isn't deciding anything.
At $100,000 the price difference is worth about $300 a year, which is small enough to disappear inside the choice of neighbourhood. State averages hide a lot, and at this margin the metro you land in matters more than the state line.
One caveat that applies in both directions. A state figure is an average across every city, town and rural county in it, and the spread inside a big state is wider than the spread between most pairs of states. If you already know which metro you're moving to, the city-level pages are the more precise answer.
Hold the salary at $100,000 and move states. Federal tax and FICA don't change, so exactly two things do: what the state takes, and what things cost.
| Line | South Carolina | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$13,170 | −$13,170 |
| Social Security and Medicare | −$7,650 | −$7,650 |
| State income tax | −$4,244 | −$3,481 |
| Take-home pay | $74,936 | $75,699 |
| Adjusted for state prices (93.7 against 94.3) | $79,974 | $80,274 |
Net of everything, the same $100,000 is worth $300 more a year in North Carolina. Of that, $800 is the state tax line and $500 is the price level. Those two are the entire difference, because everything else about a US paycheck is federal.
A state figure averages over every city and county in it, and the spread inside North Carolina is wider than the gap between most pairs of states. If you already know where you're landing, these are the city-level numbers on a $100,000 salary.
Your salary, your two cities, the same federal price data. Takes about fifteen seconds.
Compare my citiesOn the same $100,000 salary you end up about $300 a year better off in North Carolina. That's inside the range that a single change of neighbourhood or commute would swamp.
Which means this move doesn't decide itself on money. The break-even is $99,600, close enough to $100,000 that the rest of the decision is about everything the numbers don't cover.
One thing this page can't tell you: it assumes you buy roughly what an average household buys, and housing dominates that basket. If you own outright, carry a fixed mortgage, or split rent several ways, the price adjustment overstates your case in both directions. South Carolina and North Carolina are averages, and averages hide neighbourhoods.
Send the whole thing to your inbox so you can come back to it, or forward it to whoever you're deciding this with. We'll also tell you in January when the 2027 tax brackets and federal price data land and every number here changes.
The breakdown, then about one email a year. No sales pitch, unsubscribe any time.About $99,600. That holds the same purchasing power once 2026 federal tax, South Carolina and North Carolina state tax, mandatory state payroll taxes, and each state's price level have all been applied. At $60,000 the match is $60,700, and at $200,000 it's $198,500.
On a $100,000 salary, South Carolina takes $4,244 and North Carolina takes $3,481, so you save about $763 a year. Both schedules are progressive, so the saving is a different number at a different income.
They're close. South Carolina scores 93.7 and North Carolina scores 94.3 on the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity index, a difference of 0.6 index points. These are statewide averages, and the spread inside a large state is wider than the gap between most pairs of states, so a specific metro can run against the state figure.
No. Everything on this page is a recurring annual figure: tax, price levels and purchasing power on an ongoing salary. A move also carries one-off costs, and this page states none of them because we hold no data on them and won't invent it.
Price levels are Regional Price Parities from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024 vintage, which is the federal government's official measure of geographic price differences. Tax figures are 2026 federal brackets from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 plus each state's 2026 schedule. States whose 2026 figures could not be confirmed against a primary source do not get a page at all.