North Carolina and South Carolina at a glance
North Carolina and South Carolina share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $25,905 a year after taxes and the four basics in North Carolina and $26,318 in South Carolina.
South Carolina comes out ahead by $413 a year ($34 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 10,730,404 people in 100 counties in North Carolina and 5,296,225 people in 46 counties in South Carolina.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. State income tax takes $2,008 in North Carolina and $2,113 in South Carolina, which leaves take-home pay of $48,330 and $48,226.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $75,193 in North Carolina and $74,308 in South Carolina, a difference of $885. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $1,282 a month in North Carolina and $1,243 in South Carolina, so South Carolina is $39 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $2,138 and $2,171, and gasoline $1,472 and $1,385. Together the basics cost $22,426 a year in North Carolina and $21,908 in South Carolina.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $72,388 in North Carolina and $69,324 in South Carolina. Homeowners pay a median of $1,896 a year in property tax in North Carolina and $1,251 in South Carolina. Commuters travel 25.1 minutes each way on average in North Carolina and 25.6 in South Carolina.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.