Lexington-Fayette → Charleston-North Charleston

Moving from Lexington-Fayette to Charleston-North Charleston shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 92.9 to 101.0 (100 = US average), so a Lexington-Fayette salary needs to be multiplied by 1.09 to hold the same purchasing power in Charleston-North Charleston. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,272/month in Lexington-Fayette to $1,787/month in Charleston-North Charleston - a higher monthly bill of $515, or $6,180/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $68,636 in Lexington-Fayette versus $67,686 in Charleston-North Charleston - a raw gap of $950 lower. The Charleston-North Charleston labor market has 381,130 tracked jobs against 274,970 in Lexington-Fayette, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Lexington-Fayette and Charleston-North Charleston are 225 and 439 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.2:1 at origin versus 14.3:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $7,238/year in Lexington-Fayette versus $7,732/year in Charleston-North Charleston. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.