Greenville, SC vs Charleston, SC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Greenville, SC outspends Charleston, SC by a wide margin per resident — $43,093 versus $23,793, a 81% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Charleston, SC edges Greenville, SC on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 50/100 (grade C) to 46/100 (grade D). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Greenville, SC leads with police at $4,914 per resident, while Charleston, SC leads with parks and recreation at $3,903.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Greenville, SC at 100% of total revenue, whereas Charleston, SC relies most on other revenue at 82%.
Summary
Greenville spends 81.1% more per capita than Charleston ($19,300/person difference). Charleston, SC has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 50/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1,988 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $643 | $1,723 |
| Income Tax | $1,116 | $2,502 |
| Intergovernmental | $17,967 | $646 |
| Other | $4,746 | $4,635 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $4,914 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $2,341 | $1,726 |
| Highways & Roads | $842 | $1,309 |
| Public Welfare | $1,226 | $902 |
| Health | $3,014 | $2,099 |
| Hospitals | $159 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,637 | $3,903 |
| Housing | $11,807 | $5,779 |
| Sewerage | $551 | $191 |
| Utilities | $3,041 | $2,955 |
| General Admin | $0 | $625 |
| Other | $12,562 | $4,305 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.