Rock Hill, SC vs Charleston, SC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Charleston, SC spends 33% more per resident than Rock Hill, SC: $23,793 against $17,824. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Rock Hill, SC holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 85/100 (grade A) against 50/100 (grade C) for Charleston, SC — a 35-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Rock Hill, SC at $3,181 per resident and in Charleston, SC at $3,903.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Rock Hill, SC at 16% of total revenue, whereas Charleston, SC relies most on other revenue at 82%.
Summary
Charleston spends 25.1% more per capita than Rock Hill ($5,969/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 | $415 | $1,723 |
| Income Tax | $1,207 | $2,502 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,909 | $646 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,386 | $0 |
| Other | $4,871 | $4,635 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $470 | $1,726 |
| Highways & Roads | $227 | $1,309 |
| Public Welfare | $387 | $902 |
| Health | $0 | $2,099 |
| Hospitals | $666 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $3,181 | $3,903 |
| Housing | $2,961 | $5,779 |
| Sewerage | $37 | $191 |
| Utilities | $3,368 | $2,955 |
| Interest on Debt | $328 | $0 |
| General Admin | $0 | $625 |
| Other | $6,200 | $4,305 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.