Cost Of Living in Salem, SC

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Salem	South Carolina	National
Cost of living	91	93	100
Goods & Services	102	100	100
Groceries	98	99	100
Health care	100	94	100
Housing	75	80	100
Transportation	90	91	100
Utilities	92	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Salem is 2% lower than the South Carolina average
The cost of living in Salem is 9% lower than the national average
Salem housing is 25% lower than the national average
South Carolina general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
South Carolina state income tax is 100% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$60,500	$5,042	$1,412	$1,815
Renters	$0	$0	$0	$0

South Carolina Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
South Carolina	6%	9%

South Carolina Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
South Carolina	0%	6.5%

Goods & Services

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.74	$24.26	6.1%
Beauty Salon	$51.07	$45.56	12.1%
Toothpaste	$3.61	$3.70	2.4%
Shampoo	$1.37	$1.28	7.2%
Movie	$14.47	$12.13	19.3%
Bowling	$18.39	$18.00	2.2%

Groceries

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.24	$5.84	6.8%
Fried Chicken	$1.50	$1.57	4.6%
Milk	$4.56	$4.67	2.4%
Potatoes	$5.31	$4.93	7.6%
Pizza	$11.78	$12.09	2.5%
Beer	$10.45	$10.41	0.4%

Health Care

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$120.21	$125.68	4.4%
Doctor	$123.75	$135.78	8.9%
Dentist	$114.80	$113.29	1.3%
Ibuprofen	$10.43	$10.65	2.1%
Lipitor	$534.74	$468.60	14.1%

Housing

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$125,000.00	$184,700.00	32.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,581.44	$2,346.69	32.6%
Apartment Rent	$875.00	$949.00	7.8%

Transportation

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.07	$3.46	11.2%
Tire Balancing	$56.50	$59.92	5.7%

Utilities

Item	Salem	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$170.53	$193.99	12.1%
Phone	$189.75	$192.25	1.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Newry, SC	98	78	22.5%
West Union, SC	319	86	14.3%
Walhalla, SC	4,377	86	14.2%
Norris, SC	759	88	12.3%
Central, SC	5,342	88	12.0%
Salem, SC	175	91	8.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Seldovia Village, AK	175	117	16.8%
Kellyton, AL	175	82	18.4%
Fountain Hill, AR	175	88	12.3%
Elk Creek, CA	175	100	0.5%
Arriba, CO	175	85	15.1%
Salem, SC	175	91	8.8%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Salem, SC