2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Charleston-North Charleston, SC to Peoria, IL

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from Charleston-North Charleston, SC to Peoria, IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$73,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-27.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$561
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$9,240
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$8,679/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

COL 136.5
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,244
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $74,936
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$20,772
Discretionary Cash Flow $54,164
Target Market
Destination Location

Peoria, IL

COL 99.6
Gross Parity Income $73,000
Federal Income Tax -$7,230
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,585
State Income Tax -$3,469
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $56,717
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$11,532
Discretionary Cash Flow $45,185

EPI family budgets put living costs 27.0% lower in Peoria, IL than in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, so $100,000 in Charleston goes about as far as $73,000 in Peoria. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,731 a month in Charleston and $961 in Peoria, $9,240 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $561 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Peoria. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $8,679 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,150 in Charleston and $49,590 in Peoria.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Charleston-North Charleston (Monthly) Peoria (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,731$961-$770-44.5%
Food & Groceries$380$353-$27-7.1%
Transportation$1,060$1,052-$8-0.8%
Healthcare$429$590+$161+37.5%
Other Necessities$609$332-$277-45.5%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,089$2,135+$46+2.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$770/mo (-44.5%)
Charleston-North Charleston: $1,731/mo Peoria: $961/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$672/mo (-35.7%)
Charleston-North Charleston: $1,884/mo Peoria: $1,212/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$8.16/hr (-27.0%)
Charleston-North Charleston: $30.18/hr Peoria: $22.02/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$2.20/hr (-9.1%)
Charleston-North Charleston: $24.11/hr Peoria: $21.91/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Charleston-North Charleston Median Peoria Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$92,800$81,010-$11,790 (-12.7%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$109,260$98,290-$10,970 (-10.0%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$94,730$123,730+$29,000 (+30.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$79,350$79,540+$190 (+0.2%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$132,150$130,590-$1,560 (-1.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$104,650$96,530-$8,120 (-7.8%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$121,990$110,510-$11,480 (-9.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$147,170$155,840+$8,670 (+5.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$59,010$80,460+$21,450 (+36.3%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$139,830$131,660-$8,170 (-5.8%)View Dossier
Industrial Machinery MechanicIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$60,950$74,780+$13,830 (+22.7%)View Dossier
WelderSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$56,060$58,960+$2,900 (+5.2%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

Charleston-North Charleston, SC to Peoria, IL Relocation FAQs

About $73,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (136.5 in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, 99.6 in Peoria, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Charleston-North Charleston, SC to Peoria, IL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Peoria, IL to Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Relocation: Charleston-North Charleston, SC to Peoria, IL Overview

Charleston-North Charleston, SC to Peoria, IL: 2026 federal, state and local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs compared on the same salary.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Peoria, IL to match $100,000 in Charleston-North Charleston, SC?

About $73,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (136.5 in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, 99.6 in Peoria, IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Peoria, IL cheaper than Charleston-North Charleston, SC?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 27.0% lower in Peoria, IL than in Charleston-North Charleston, SC. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.