Here are the 10 most affordable places in SC to live, new report shows

For those wanting to buy a home in South Carolina, there are 10 places you might want to consider if affordability is your top concern.

The median home sales price in South Carolina jumped 15.4% in 2022 from a combination of high demand and rising mortgage rates, South Carolina Realtors statistics show. The latest data indicates that the median sales price in the state rose again by 7.7% in January.

But while prices have been climbing overall, there are still places in the state that are more affordable than others.

SmartAsset, a financial technology company, recently completed a study to determine the most affordable places to live in the Palmetto State. Places where home ownership costs were lowest relative to the median income in each location were considered the most affordable in the study.

According to SmartAsset, Irmo is the most affordable place in South Carolina. Sangaree rounded out the list as the 10th most affordable place in the state.

Here is a list of the 10 most affordable places to live in South Carolina, including data on their average closing costs, annual property tax, annual homeowner’s insurance, average annual mortgage payment and median income.

To determine the most affordable places to buy a home, SmartAsset analyzed closing costs, real estate taxes, homeowners insurance and mortgage rates across the United States.

The analysis began by including all cities with a population of 5,000 or greater. SmartAsset then measured the total cost of owning a home, using the average home cost in each city over a five-year period. That five-year cost was then measured as a proportion of median household income in each city to determine affordability.

The cheapest places were those in which housing costs were smallest compared to the median income in each area.