Columbia vs Mount Pleasant
The short version
- Columbia is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 7% lower than in the Mount Pleasant area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $264,300 in Columbia and $748,500 in Mount Pleasant.
- Households earn more in Mount Pleasant ($124,755 vs $55,529 median).
- Columbia is growing faster: +7.5% since 2020 vs +4.9%.
- Commutes are shorter in Columbia (18 vs 25 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Columbia, SC | Mount Pleasant, SC | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 147,035 | 95,469 |
| Growth since 2020 | +7.5% | +4.9% |
| People per square mile | 1,062 | 1,923 |
| Median age | 28.6 | 42.6 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 46% | 68% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $55,529 | $124,755 |
| Median home value | $264,300 | $748,500 |
| Home value to income | 4.8× | 6.0× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,204 | $2,159 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 93.7 | 101.0 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 79.5 | 119.8 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $70,200 | $75,700 |
| Homeowners | 46% | 74% |
| Top state income tax | 6% | 6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.49% | 7.49% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 17.7 | 24.9 |
| Work from home | 12% | 27% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 0% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 7.5% | 3.3% |
| Poverty rate | 24% | 6.1% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 57° / 35° | 60° / 39° |
| July high / low | 93° / 72° | 91° / 74° |
| Precipitation per year | 45 in | 53 in |
| Snowfall per year | 1 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 81 | 64 |
| Nights below freezing | 46 | 22 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 5 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively Moderate | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 93.1 | 98.6 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 58% | 60% |
| Home prices, past year | +3.6% | +4.7% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +51.6% | +61.6% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Columbia: March to May and September to October. Mount Pleasant: March to May and October to November.
Full monthly tables: Columbia weather by month and Mount Pleasant weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $70,200 in Columbia and $75,700 in Mount Pleasant. Moving from Columbia to Mount Pleasant, you would need about $80,800 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Columbia and Mount Pleasant
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Columbia and Mount Pleasant.
Which would you pick?
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