Cost Of Living in Chester, 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	Chester	South Carolina	National
Cost of living	83	93	100
Goods & Services	103	100	100
Groceries	100	99	100
Health care	111	94	100
Housing	45	80	100
Transportation	94	91	100
Utilities	89	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Chester is 11% lower than the South Carolina average
The cost of living in Chester is 17% lower than the national average
Chester housing is 55% 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	$41,667	$3,472	$972	$1,250
Renters	$18,600	$1,550	$434	$558

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Chester is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Chester has a median income of about $41,667 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $972 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $18,600. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $434 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

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	Chester	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$18.25	$24.26	24.8%
Beauty Salon	$59.75	$45.56	31.1%
Toothpaste	$3.81	$3.70	2.8%
Shampoo	$1.27	$1.28	0.7%
Movie	$13.55	$12.13	11.7%
Bowling	$21.67	$18.00	20.4%

Groceries

Item	Chester	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.27	$5.84	7.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.39	$1.57	11.5%
Milk	$4.61	$4.67	1.2%
Potatoes	$4.98	$4.93	1.0%
Pizza	$10.96	$12.09	9.3%
Beer	$10.47	$10.41	0.5%

Health Care

Item	Chester	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$143.74	$125.68	14.4%
Doctor	$148.29	$135.78	9.2%
Dentist	$115.52	$113.29	2.0%
Ibuprofen	$10.77	$10.65	1.1%
Lipitor	$467.34	$468.60	0.3%

Housing

Item	Chester	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$67,700.00	$184,700.00	63.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,159.30	$2,346.69	34.6%
Apartment Rent	$599.00	$949.00	36.9%

Transportation

Item	Chester	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.29	$3.46	4.9%
Tire Balancing	$53.32	$59.92	11.0%

Utilities

Item	Chester	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$167.89	$193.99	13.5%
Phone	$189.90	$192.25	1.2%

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.
Gayle Mill, SC	832	79	21.1%
Lockhart, SC	427	79	20.8%
Carlisle, SC	571	80	19.8%
Eureka Mill, SC	2,121	86	14.5%
Richburg, SC	349	93	7.0%
Chester, SC	5,392	83	17.0%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Cowichan Valley A, BC	5,392	n/a
Pinckneyville, IL	5,391	79	21.2%
Fruitland, ID	5,390	97	3.5%
Val-David, QC	5,390	n/a
Sinton, TX	5,389	80	19.7%
Chester, SC	5,392	83	17.0%

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 Chester, SC