The short answer: Florida wins on income tax (there isn't one). South Carolina wins on housing costs, insurance, hurricane exposure and summer heat. The pattern is real enough to have a name: "halfbacks" — Northeasterners who retired to Florida and then moved halfway back.
| Income tax | FL none · SC 1.99% / 5.21% |
|---|---|
| Social Security | Neither state taxes it |
| Estate tax | Neither has one |
| Hurricane strikes 1851–2010 | FL 114 (37 major, 2 Cat 5) · SC 30 (6 major, zero Cat 5) |
| Cost of living | SC 91.9, housing 79.8 (US = 100) |
| Movers FL → SC (2024) | 18,000 — SC's #3 origin state |
Sources: Census ACS 2024, Tax Foundation, MERIC Q1 2026, NOAA, Census Vintage 2025.
If your income is large and earned, Florida's zero income tax is difficult to argue with. If you're retired — living on Social Security (untaxed in both states) plus retirement income — the income tax advantage shrinks and the differences that remain are insurance, hurricane risk, summer heat and housing cost, all of which favour South Carolina. That's precisely the calculation behind the "halfback" migration, and 18,000 people made that move in 2024 alone.
Project Hometown SC works in three South Carolina communities. Each runs its own program, with its own resident ambassadors and its own application — those community sites are where you apply.
Living history on the Pee Dee — a 7,361-acre state park, Dizzy Gillespie's birthplace, and county median home values around $116,200.
A Fortune 500 headquarters, a university downtown, and a public STEM school Niche ranked #1 in South Carolina.
The Front Porch of the Lowcountry — an hour from Charleston, with a 600-acre wild sanctuary inside the city limits.
Not ready to apply? Read our background pages first: Cheraw · Hartsville · Walterboro
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A retiree who moved from the Northeast or Midwest to Florida, then relocated "halfway back" north to the Carolinas — usually for milder summers, lower housing and insurance costs, and less hurricane exposure. Census data supports the pattern: 18,000 people moved from Florida to South Carolina in 2024, making Florida SC's third-largest origin state.
By the historical record, substantially. NOAA counted 114 hurricane strikes on Florida between 1851 and 2010, including 37 majors and 2 Category 5s. South Carolina recorded 30 strikes, 6 majors and no Category 5 in the same period. Hurricane Hugo (1989) remains SC's last major landfall.
Not necessarily, and it depends on your income mix. If most of your income is Social Security (untaxed in both) and retirement distributions (deductible in SC at 65+), Florida's advantage narrows considerably — while South Carolina's lower housing costs and property tax structure keep applying every year.
Pick a community and a resident ambassador reaches out for a real conversation — no pitch, just questions and answers. Applications are handled on each town's own site.