Rochester → Charleston-North Charleston
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Rochester to Charleston-North Charleston is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 90.8 to 101.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $380/mo.
- -$8,001
- BLS median salary lower in Charleston-North Charleston
- 259 to 439
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 14.3:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,990
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Charleston-North Charleston
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 10% higher cost of living
- - $380/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $8K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 90.8 to 101.0, so the same paycheck buys less in Charleston-North Charleston (ratio 1.11). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $380/mo ($4,560/yr) from $1,407 in Rochester to $1,787 in Charleston-North Charleston.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Charleston-North Charleston sits #100 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Rochester is #172/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,001 lower ($75,687 → $67,686). Labor-market size: 100,480 tracked jobs at origin vs 381,130 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: South Carolina scores 80 (A, #3/51) vs Minnesota at 49 (F, #43/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
- Income tax
- 85
- Property tax
- 87
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 56
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Rochester to see what you'd need to earn in Charleston-North Charleston to maintain the same purchasing power.
Charleston-North Charleston metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026