Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Summerville's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Summerville?
Your $100,000 in Summerville has the same purchasing power as $94,625 in the average US city. You'd need $5,375 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Summerville's cost index of 106, sorted by closest match.
Why do people move to Summerville? On the data, the answer is largely clean air, by the numbers. The detail is below.
Summerville's air quality index averages about 42 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
Reasons are pulled from Summerville's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 34°F, Summerville sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Summerville averages about 34°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Summerville runs about 89°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Summerville's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Summerville sits at about 49 feet (15 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Atlantic basin storms can form from June 1 to November 30, but the serious ones cluster in August, September, and the first half of October. Residents of Summerville learn the season's rhythm fast: watch the cone, board up when it's the call, and don't shrug off the slow-mover storms — those are usually the ones that flood.
Average for an American city. Summerville's reported crime rate of about 3,125 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Roughly average. Summerville's cost-of-living index is 106, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Not really — Summerville is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 5 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $73,976 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Summerville runs about $1,328/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.