RelocateMath
City cost of living 2026

Cost of living in Hilton Head Island, SC

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC metro area (237,393 people) ranks #77 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.

By Data reviewed Data: Census ACS, BEA, BLS, NOAA, IRS, FEMA (methodology)

New York, NY: price level 112.6Los Angeles, CA: price level 113.6Chicago, IL: price level 103.6Dallas, TX: price level 103.1Houston, TX: price level 98.6Miami, FL: price level 114.2Washington, D.C.: price level 108.9Atlanta, GA: price level 100.1Philadelphia, PA: price level 102.6Phoenix, AZ: price level 103.3Boston, MA: price level 108.3Riverside, CA: price level 106.4San Francisco, CA: price level 115.6Detroit, MI: price level 100.3Seattle, WA: price level 111.1Minneapolis, MN: price level 104.8Tampa, FL: price level 100.9San Diego, CA: price level 111.9Denver, CO: price level 105.8Orlando, FL: price level 101.4Charlotte, NC: price level 97.3Baltimore, MD: price level 104.5St. Louis, MO: price level 95.1San Antonio, TX: price level 94.7Austin, TX: price level 98.1Portland, OR: price level 105.4Sacramento, CA: price level 106.7Pittsburgh, PA: price level 94.7Las Vegas, NV: price level 100.2Cincinnati, OH: price level 95.4Kansas City, MO: price level 92.5Columbus, OH: price level 95.5Indianapolis, IN: price level 95.7Cleveland, OH: price level 93.9Nashville, TN: price level 96.3San Jose, CA: price level 110.4Virginia Beach, VA: price level 97.9Jacksonville, FL: price level 99.5Providence, RI: price level 101.8Milwaukee, WI: price level 96.9Raleigh, NC: price level 98.2Oklahoma City, OK: price level 90.4Louisville, KY: price level 93.1Richmond, VA: price level 97.9Memphis, TN: price level 92.2Salt Lake City, UT: price level 100.9Birmingham, AL: price level 91.6Fresno, CA: price level 102.2Grand Rapids, MI: price level 95.5Hartford, CT: price level 102.7Buffalo, NY: price level 95.8Tucson, AZ: price level 96.9Tulsa, OK: price level 89.2Rochester, NY: price level 97.0Omaha, NE: price level 91.9Honolulu, HI: price level 111.0Greenville, SC: price level 93.3Bridgeport, CT: price level 106.9New Orleans, LA: price level 92.6Knoxville, TN: price level 92.6Sarasota, FL: price level 102.4Albuquerque, NM: price level 95.5Bakersfield, CA: price level 100.9McAllen, TX: price level 85.9Albany, NY: price level 99.6Allentown, PA: price level 100.0Baton Rouge, LA: price level 90.8Worcester, MA: price level 102.5El Paso, TX: price level 89.9Columbia, SC: price level 93.7Charleston, SC: price level 101.0Cape Coral, FL: price level 102.3Lakeland, FL: price level 97.1Boise, ID: price level 98.4Oxnard, CA: price level 110.5Dayton, OH: price level 92.7Stockton, CA: price level 105.1Greensboro, NC: price level 92.9Colorado Springs, CO: price level 100.7Little Rock, AR: price level 89.4Provo, UT: price level 98.2Des Moines, IA: price level 91.7Daytona Beach, FL: price level 99.4Poughkeepsie, NY: price level 109.4Madison, WI: price level 97.3Winston-Salem, NC: price level 92.0Akron, OH: price level 93.4Ogden, UT: price level 100.3Wichita, KS: price level 88.9Palm Bay, FL: price level 100.0Syracuse, NY: price level 95.7Augusta, GA: price level 91.9Durham, NC: price level 97.6Harrisburg, PA: price level 98.7Jackson, MS: price level 89.0Fayetteville, AR: price level 91.4Spokane, WA: price level 100.3Toledo, OH: price level 91.5Chattanooga, TN: price level 91.5New Haven, CT: price level 104.6Reno, NV: price level 101.0Portland, ME: price level 101.9Port St. Lucie, FL: price level 100.2Huntsville, AL: price level 93.1Pensacola, FL: price level 97.7Lexington, KY: price level 92.9Killeen, TX: price level 91.1Springfield, MO: price level 88.6Santa Rosa, CA: price level 107.8Wilmington, NC: price level 96.4Fort Wayne, IN: price level 92.6Vallejo, CA: price level 108.5Santa Barbara, CA: price level 108.8Salinas, CA: price level 109.0Savannah, GA: price level 95.2Manchester, NH: price level 105.7Ocala, FL: price level 95.2Asheville, NC: price level 96.5Naples, FL: price level 103.2Myrtle Beach, SC: price level 93.6Anchorage, AK: price level 105.4Spartanburg, SC: price level 91.1Fayetteville, NC: price level 92.0Trenton, NJ: price level 103.2Eugene, OR: price level 101.6Fort Collins, CO: price level 101.1Ann Arbor, MI: price level 100.9Greeley, CO: price level 100.2Gainesville, FL: price level 96.7Clarksville, TN: price level 90.9Boulder, CO: price level 105.2Columbus, GA: price level 89.3Crestview, FL: price level 97.0Sioux Falls, SD: price level 90.6Olympia, WA: price level 103.7Norwich, CT: price level 100.4Bremerton, WA: price level 105.6Fargo, ND: price level 90.9Bend, OR: price level 103.6Daphne, AL: price level 94.7Prescott, AZ: price level 98.3Hilton Head Island, SC: price level 98.0Burlington, VT: price level 100.9Panama City, FL: price level 97.3Jacksonville, NC: price level 92.1Punta Gorda, FL: price level 100.5Billings, MT: price level 93.5The Villages, FL: price level 85.4Cheyenne, WY: price level 96.5

Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.

Price level of the 149 metros we cover
See all 149 cities

Price level, from cheaper to pricier.

Salary to match $75k
$77,200
vs. an average-priced, no-income-tax area
Median rent
$1,903
per month · need $76,120 income
Median home
$511,100
need about $129,717 to buy

Compare Hilton Head Island with your city

See what you'd need to earn in Hilton Head Island to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from New York, NY, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.

Equal salary in Hilton Head Island: $78,800

Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities

To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $78,800 in Hilton Head Island, SC to match $100,000 in New York, NY ($21,200 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.

Single filer, W-2 salary. Uses New York and South Carolina state income tax; includes New York City resident tax $3,441 (inside city limits).

Take-home in New York
$70,467
29.5% total tax
Take-home in Hilton Head Island
$74,936
25.1% total tax
Prices in Hilton Head Island
-13.0%
vs New York (BEA 2024)
Renting: change after selected costs
+$3,725
per year, after taxes, rent and power; excludes food, transport, healthcare, child care and moving costs

See the full New York to South Carolina report

There is no city-to-city report for this move. The state report compares taxes, housing and moving costs.

What things cost in Hilton Head Island

Price level by category (U.S. = 100)
Below the U.S. average Above the U.S. average
Overall98.0
Housing101.2
Goods96.3
Utilities88.1
Other services98.3

The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.

Taxes in Hilton Head Island

On a $90,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $68,493 after 2026 federal tax ($10,970), Social Security and Medicare ($6,885) and South Carolina income tax ($3,652).

Housing

MeasureHilton Head Island area
Median rent$1,903/mo
Median home value$511,100
Median property tax$2,448/yr
Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down)$3,027
Median household income$88,348

Climate and jobs in Hilton Head Island

In the Hilton Head Island area the average January low is 40°F and the average July high 92°F, and the area has about 73 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 4.2% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $43,850 a year, 14% below the U.S. median.

Climate in the Hilton Head Island area: NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Climate1991–2020 average
January low40°F
July high92°F
Days 90°F or hotter73 a year
Precipitation45 in a year
Snowfall0 in a year
Jobs and pay in the Hilton Head Island area compared with the U.S. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobs and payMetro areaU.S.
Unemployment rate, 2025 average4.2%4.3%
Median wage, all jobs (May 2025)$43,850$50,980
Wage and salary jobs (May 2025)81,920155.5 million

Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Beaufort MCAS station (USW00093831). Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Retiring in Hilton Head Island

A single retiree spends about $3,064 a month here if they own their home outright, or $4,470 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.

Where people move to and from Hilton Head Island

Leaving Hilton Head Island for… (households)
Savannah494
Charleston370
Charlotte183
Greenville157
Atlanta155
Columbia124
San Diego123
Jacksonville, NC95
Moving to Hilton Head Island from… (households)
New York365
Savannah358
Charleston309
Atlanta231
Washington, D.C.175
Charlotte150
San Diego143
Columbia132

IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.

Natural hazard risk

FEMA rates the Hilton Head Island area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 94.7 of 100), with expected losses of about $1,323 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in South Carolina.

Highest relative risks (national percentile)
Higher risk than most U.S. counties
Hurricane99
Earthquake92
Lightning91
Coastal flooding90
Wildfire89

The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to live in Hilton Head Island?

To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $77,200 in Hilton Head Island. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $76,120, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $129,717.

Is Hilton Head Island expensive?

The Hilton Head Island metro area's price level is 98.0 (U.S. = 100), #77 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 101.2, 1% above the U.S. average.

Are people moving to Hilton Head Island?

Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Hilton Head Island had a net gain of about 537 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).

What is the weather like in Hilton Head Island?

In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Hilton Head Island area (Beaufort MCAS weather station), the average January low is 40°F and the average July high 92°F. The area has about 73 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 45 inches of precipitation a year and almost no snow.

What are jobs and pay like in Hilton Head Island?

The Hilton Head Island metro area's unemployment rate averaged 4.2% in 2025, below the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $43,850 a year in May 2025, 14% below the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What natural disasters affect Hilton Head Island?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 94.7). The highest relative risks are hurricane, earthquake, lightning.

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