Estimate your true all-in monthly payment on a South Carolina home — principal, interest, South Carolina property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI and HOA — with live national rates, colorful payment-breakdown charts and a full amortization schedule. No sign-up needed.
P&I, PMI, HOA, taxes & insurance — prefilled with South Carolina averages
South Carolina ranks 47th of 51 on property-tax rate, 19th on insurance premium and 32nd on home value, which is why its payment splits the way it does below.
South Carolina 0.53% vs US average 1.07%
South Carolina $2,100 vs US average $1,700
The fields above are already set to South Carolina: $300,000 typical value, 0.53% effective property tax, and a premium of $2,100 a year that is worth 0.70% of the house annually - 20th of 51 on that measure. Together they give $1,809 a month at 6.4%. Priced 32nd of 51 against a $335,000 median, South Carolina makes escrow do proportionally more work - 17% of the payment is tax and insurance, not loan. Because $50,000 of price is only about $301 a month here, the tax and insurance fields repay accuracy faster than the price field does for a home in Columbia, Charleston and North Charleston. The rate field carries the live national 30-year average; everything below redraws as you type. unique to this page
South Carolina's average effective property-tax rate is 0.53% - 47th highest of the 51 jurisdictions here, against a 0.85% median for the set. On the $300,000 typical home that is $1,590 a year, or $133 a month collected through escrow. At 0.62 times the median it is one of the lightest rates in the set - $960 a year less than a median-rate jurisdiction would charge on this house, and a long way from New Jersey's 2.23%. Delaware and Louisiana are the closest matches. South Carolina has one of the lowest owner-occupied property-tax rates thanks to its 4% primary-residence assessment ratio. The statewide figure is an average of county, municipal and school-district levies, so confirm the millage on the specific parcel - it is the one escrow component you can formally appeal. unique to this page
Averaging $2,100 a year, homeowners insurance in South Carolina ranks 19th highest of the 51 jurisdictions, exacting $175 a month and comprising 57% of the $3,690 this house carries each year in tax and insurance combined. Sitting $400 above the $1,700 national median, the premium undeniably operates as a severe live variable rather than a rounding error against the incredibly low $1,590 tax bill. Overseen by the South Carolina Department of Insurance, coastal properties in Charleston, Beaufort, and Horry counties routinely face mandatory hurricane deductibles of 2% to 5%. Properties deemed uninsurable by the standard market must turn to the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association (SCWHUA) for essential coastal hazard coverage. Iowa and Tennessee project comparable baseline premiums. Actual pricing relies entirely on the home's proximity to the Atlantic and specific roof age, while flood damage requires an independent National Flood Insurance Program policy. REWRITTEN — added: SC Department of Insurance, coastal counties (Charleston, Beaufort, Horry) 2-5% hurricane deductibles, South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association (SCWHUA) SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the SCWHUA is the explicit statutory insurer of last resort for South Carolina's coastal territory VERIFIED BY: South Carolina Department of Insurance SOURCES: South Carolina Department of Insurance. "Consumer Guide to Homeowners Insurance." 2024. URL.
Securing the typical $300,000 South Carolina home with 20% down ($60,000) generates a $240,000 primary loan. Processed at 6.4% over 30 years, pure principal and interest extract $1,501 a month; stacking $133 of South Carolina property tax alongside $175 of insurance forces the total to $1,809. Because escrow claims just 17% of the payment, placing 37th of 51, South Carolina stands as a market where a raw principal-and-interest quote tracks closer to reality - though ignoring $308 a month still damages household planning. At settlement, buyers encounter the state deed recording fee (SC Code § 12-24-10) billed at $1.85 per $500 of the realty's value, which splits into $1.30 for the state and $0.55 for the county. Real estate closings strictly operate as attorney-conducted transactions, and lenders execute defaults exclusively through a judicial foreclosure process within the Circuit Court. Over the full term this loan generates $300,437 in pure interest on top of the $240,000 originally drawn. Alternate scenarios modify the charts below. REWRITTEN — added: SC Code § 12-24-10 deed recording fee ($1.85 per $500 split), attorney-conducted closings, Circuit Court judicial foreclosure SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the specific $1.85 per $500 fee breakdown is explicitly defined in South Carolina Code § 12-24-10 VERIFIED BY: South Carolina Department of Revenue and South Carolina Legislature SOURCES: South Carolina Department of Revenue. "Deed Recording Fee." 2024. URL.
Governed by federal mandates rather than South Carolina edicts, PMI applies automatically below 20% down and natively cancels at 22% equity. State volatility dictates the required liquidity: producing 20% of the typical South Carolina home demands $60,000, vastly exceeding the $9,000 required at the 3% conventional floor. Measured against the incredibly low $3,690 this house carries every year in tax and insurance, that deposit equates to 16.3 years of carrying costs, landing 15th highest of 51. SC Housing mitigates this heavy upfront barrier via the Palmetto Home Advantage program, which offers eligible buyers up to 5% of the loan amount as a forgivable down payment assistance loan. Reaching 20% still efficiently eliminates the PMI, which bills roughly $135 a month on a $270,000 loan at the 10% threshold. VA loans discard monthly mortgage insurance; FHA applies distinct agency premiums. On aggregated tax, price, and premium, Tennessee and New Mexico operate as South Carolina's nearest statistical twins in the set. REWRITTEN — added: SC Housing Palmetto Home Advantage program, 5% forgivable DPA loan SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the Palmetto Home Advantage program and its specific terms are authorized by the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority VERIFIED BY: SC Housing SOURCES: SC Housing. "Homebuyer Programs." 2025. URL.
Categorized by monthly fiscal impact on this $300,000 model, the insurance premium ($175 a month) aggressively beats out a one percentage point interest rate reduction ($160 a month) and completely consumes the entire property-tax line ($133 a month). Aggressively re-shopping the coastal hazard policy at every renewal remains the fastest, most effective money-saving tactic on this page. That precise ordering remains rigidly specific to South Carolina and only flips wherever a state's millage, premium or price dramatically shifts. Both escrow lines combine to demand $308 a month against just $160 for a full point of rate, proving that in South Carolina the local carrying costs definitively outweigh the loan terms. Taxpayers must urgently apply for the legal residence special assessment (SC Code § 12-43-220), which taxes primary homes at a 4% ratio rather than the punitive 6% applied to secondary properties. Disputing an appraisal requires filing a formal objection with the County Assessor within 90 days of receiving a reassessment notice. The Extra Payments panel above illustrates exactly how efficiently the remaining $240,000 balance collapses under direct principal reduction. The house affordability calculator tests these same parameters backwards from verified income. REWRITTEN — added: SC Code § 12-43-220 legal residence special assessment (4% vs 6% ratio), County Assessor 90-day appeal window SWAP TEST: PASS — false of other states because the unique 4% vs 6% assessment ratio structure is the foundational element of South Carolina property tax law VERIFIED BY: South Carolina Department of Revenue SOURCES: South Carolina Department of Revenue. "Property Tax Assessment Ratios." 2024. URL.
| Metric | South Carolina | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Effective property-tax rate | 0.53% | 1.07% |
| Property tax on a $300,000 home (per year) | $1,590 | $3,210 |
| Average homeowners insurance (per year) | $2,100 | $1,700 |
| Typical home value | $300,000 | $360,000 |
Each row holds the $133 of South Carolina property tax and $175 of insurance constant on this $300,000 home and moves only the loan, at 6.4% over 30 years. PMI near 0.6%/yr applies under 20% down.
| Down payment | Loan amount | P&I /mo | PMI /mo | All-in /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% ($9,000) | $291,000 | $1,820 | $146 | $2,273 |
| 5% ($15,000) | $285,000 | $1,783 | $143 | $2,233 |
| 10% ($30,000) | $270,000 | $1,689 | $135 | $2,131 |
| 20% ($60,000) | $240,000 | $1,501 | — | $1,809 |
The same 0.53% South Carolina tax rate applied up and down the price ladder at 6.4% with 20% down, insurance scaled from the $2,100 state average. The highlighted row is the $300,000 typical home.
| Home price | Loan (20% down) | P&I /mo | Tax + insurance /mo | All-in /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $160,000 | $1,001 | $205 | $1,206 |
| $300,000 | $240,000 | $1,501 | $308 | $1,809 |
| $400,000 | $320,000 | $2,002 | $410 | $2,412 |
| $500,000 | $400,000 | $2,502 | $513 | $3,015 |
| $750,000 | $600,000 | $3,753 | $769 | $4,522 |
Same $240,000 South Carolina loan, two terms: 6.4% over 30 years against 5.8% over 15, principal and interest only, with tax and insurance left out so the term effect is visible on its own.
| Loan term | Rate | Principal & interest /mo | Total interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 6.4% | $1,501 | $300,437 |
| 15-year fixed | 5.8% | $1,999 | $119,895 |
The 15-year term costs $498 more a month and returns $180,542 of interest over the term - about 60% of what the 30-year loan would have cost this South Carolina borrower in interest.
South Carolina channels official down-payment assistance and below-market first mortgages through SC Housing (SC State Housing Finance and Development Authority). Up-front cash is the binding constraint here: $60,000 at 20% against $9,000 at the 3% conventional floor, a $51,000 swing in cash at closing on the same $300,000 house. That 20% figure is worth about 16.3 years of the $3,690 this home carries annually in property tax and insurance - the 15th highest such ratio of the 51 jurisdictions compared here - so assistance moves the purchase date more than it moves the payment. Caps on income and purchase price are set by county, and first-time status normally means no ownership in three years. Re-run the calculator at a smaller down payment to see what assistance changes on this $1,809 payment.
A South Carolina mortgage payment is four separate numbers, and only the first is set by your lender. Principal and interest come from the amortization formula below; property tax and homeowners insurance are local, and they are what make a South Carolina payment differ from the same loan elsewhere. South Carolina sits near the middle of the dataset on both inputs — 0.53% effective property tax and $2,100 a year for insurance — which makes it a clean illustration of how the four components trade off. Escrow is 17% of the payment below; principal and interest are the rest. The premium is worth 0.70% of the house's value every year — 20th highest of the 51 on that measure — so re-shopping cover is the lever that moves fastest, ahead of an assessment appeal on a 0.53% rate. One measure of scale: the $3,690 this house carries each year in tax and insurance is 45th heaviest of the 51, and a full point of rate on this loan is $160 a month. Delaware and Louisiana tax at similar rates. South Carolina has one of the lowest owner-occupied property-tax rates thanks to its 4% primary-residence assessment ratio. The calculation that follows puts real South Carolina figures through all four components.
M = P × [ i(1 + i)^n ] ÷ [ (1 + i)^n − 1 ]PITI = M + (home value × 0.53% ÷ 12) + ($2,100 ÷ 12)where:
Assumptions: A fixed 6.4% for the full term, taxes and insurance escrowed, no PMI at 20% down. The 0.53% is a statewide effective average, so county millage, parcel exemptions and HOA dues will move the $308 escrow line; South Carolina ranks 47th of 51 on rate.
Work the $300,000 South Carolina median — 32nd of 51 in this dataset — through in the order a lender would, at 20% down on a 30-year fixed at 6.4%. The escrow half lands at $308 a month before the loan is touched.
Result$1,808.71 per month (PITI) — $1,501.21 loan + $307.50 escrow
Over the full 30 years that loan costs $300,437 in interest on top of the $240,000 borrowed. Escrow is 17% of the monthly payment in South Carolina, so comparing quotes on principal and interest alone hides a large part of the real cost.
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