Southern hospitality comes at a higher price.
South Carolina renters have seen their housing bills climb faster than anywhere else in the country, with the state’s median gross rent climbing 19.2% in just two years, according to a new analysis.
The typical South Carolina renter paid more than $1,395 per month in 2025, up from $1,170 in 2023, home warranty company Cinch Home Services found after digging into American Community Survey figures released by the Census Bureau on Oct. 29.
This increase nearly doubles the 10.7% jump seen by renters nationally during the same period.
Delaware is close behind with 18.9%, followed by South Dakota with 18.2%, North Dakota with 16.9% and Idaho with 16.4%.
So what’s driving the pressure on the Palmetto State? It comes down to a flood of new arrivals and a lack of places to accommodate them.
South Carolina grew faster than any other state between July 2024 and July 2025, with its population increasing by 1.5%, according to census estimates.
“South Carolina saw a population increase of 3.33% in two years, comparing 2023 and 2025 population estimates, more than double the national change of 1.49%,” Doug Hollingsworth, senior content manager at Cinch Home Services, told the Post.
U-Haul also crowned it the nation’s top destination for net movers, and the jobs follow the crowds. The state had the nation’s largest percentage increase in payroll employment in the year through May 2025, adding 62,500 positions.
“People attracted to sunshine, new job opportunities and coastal living might choose to move to South Carolina, as opposed to neighboring states, North Carolina or Georgia, where the median rent is higher,” Hollingsworth said.
Manufacturers have been catching up for years. A 2023 study by state lawmakers and SC Housing blamed the shortage on rapid growth and continued underbuilding from the Great Recession, noting that South Carolina’s population grew 14% between 2010 and 2022, about twice the national rate.
The pain hits working families hardest. Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist at the University of South Carolina, found that “about 90 percent of low-income households in South Carolina face the burden of housing costs” in a statewide study.
Cinch’s numbers also reveal a broader upheaval, with low-cost states getting hammered while more expensive states are barely budging. Hawaii saw the smallest increase of all, a modest 3.6%, although its median value of $2,009 still ranked second in the country.
“In particular, states with the lowest starting rents have often seen the largest increases, while already expensive states like Hawaii and Colorado have seen the smallest increases,” a Cinch spokesperson said. “This suggests that renters in more affordable states are quickly losing this affordability advantage.”
New Yorkers are not immune either. Suffolk County on Long Island saw the largest increase of any large county in America, with median rent rising 22.4% to $2,503. The Bronx finished fifth with 13.5 percent.
There could be some good news for South Carolina renters. Apartment List tracked a statewide asking rent change of less than 1% in either direction in 2025, while vacancies increased in most metros as new construction outpaced demand. The census count takes into account all renters, including those with existing leases, and incorporates utility costs, so it reflects what households actually pay rather than new registrations.
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