North Charleston, SC vs Rock Hill, SC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Rock Hill, SC spends 38% more per resident than North Charleston, SC: $17,824 against $12,917. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Rock Hill, SC edges North Charleston, SC on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 85/100 (grade A) to 80/100 (grade A). 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: North Charleston, SC leads with fire protection at $1,323 per resident, while Rock Hill, SC leads with parks and recreation at $3,181.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in North Charleston, SC and 16% in Rock Hill, SC.
Summary
Rock Hill spends 27.5% more per capita than North Charleston ($4,907/person difference). Rock Hill, SC has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 85/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $231 | $415 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,207 |
| Intergovernmental | $23,753 | $8,909 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,386 |
| Other | $632 | $4,871 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,323 | $470 |
| Highways & Roads | $867 | $227 |
| Public Welfare | $0 | $387 |
| Hospitals | $194 | $666 |
| Parks & Recreation | $987 | $3,181 |
| Housing | $3,880 | $2,961 |
| Sewerage | $274 | $37 |
| Utilities | $650 | $3,368 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $328 |
| Other | $4,742 | $6,200 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.