Make New York Post a Preferred Source Southern hospitality is coming with a steeper price tag.
Tenants in South Carolina have watched their housing bills climb faster than anywhere else in the nation, with the state’s median gross rent rocketing 19.2% in just two years, according to a new analysis.
The typical South Carolina renter forked over $1,395 a month in 2025, up from $1,170 in 2023, home warranty firm Cinch Home Services found after digging through American Community Survey figures the Census Bureau published on Oct. 29.
That surge nearly doubles the 10.7% jump renters saw nationwide over the same stretch.
Delaware landed a close second at 18.9%, trailed by South Dakota at 18.2%, North Dakota at 16.9% and Idaho at 16.4%.
So what’s driving the Palmetto State squeeze? It boils down to a flood of newcomers and not nearly enough places to put them.
South Carolina grew faster than any other state between July 2024 and July 2025, with its population swelling 1.5%, according to Census estimates.
“South Carolina experienced a population increase of 3.33% in two years, when comparing 2023 and 2025 population estimates, which is 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 are following the crowds. The state notched the country’s largest percentage gain in payroll employment in the year through May 2025, adding 62,500 positions.
“People who are attracted to the sunshine, new employment opportunities and coastal living could be opting to move to South Carolina, as opposed to neighboring states, North Carolina or Georgia, where median rent is higher,” Hollingsworth said.
Builders have been playing catch-up for years. A 2023 study by state lawmakers and SC Housing pinned the shortage on rapid growth plus lingering underbuilding from the Great Recession, noting South Carolina’s population expanded 14% from 2010 to 2022, roughly twice the national pace.
The pain lands hardest on working families. University of South Carolina research economist Joseph Von Nessen found “about 90% of South Carolina’s lower-income households are estimated to be housing-cost burdened” in a statewide study.
Cinch’s numbers reveal a broader shake-up as well, with bargain states getting hammered while pricey ones barely budge. Hawaii posted the smallest increase of all, a modest 3.6%, though its $2,009 median still ranks second-highest in the country.
“Notably, the states with the lowest starting rents have often seen the sharpest increases, while already-expensive states like Hawaii and Colorado have seen the smallest rise,” a Cinch spokesperson said. “This suggests renters in more affordable states are rapidly losing that affordability advantage.”
New Yorkers aren’t off the hook either. Long Island’s Suffolk County saw the steepest climb of any large county in America, with median rent soaring 22.4% to $2,503. The Bronx clocked in fifth at 13.5%.
There may be a sliver of good news for South Carolina tenants. Apartment List tracked asking rents across the state moving less than 1% in either direction during 2025, while vacancies rose in most metros as new construction outpaced demand. The Census tally captures every renter, including those on existing leases, and folds in utility costs, so it reflects what households are actually paying rather than fresh listings.
