Rock Hill, SC vs North Charleston, 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: Rock Hill, SC leads with parks and recreation at $3,181 per resident, while North Charleston, SC leads with fire protection at $1,323.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 16% of total revenue in Rock Hill, SC and 100% in North Charleston, SC.
Summary
Rock Hill spends 38.0% 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 | $415 | $231 |
| Income Tax | $1,207 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,909 | $23,753 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,386 | $0 |
| Other | $4,871 | $632 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $470 | $1,323 |
| Highways & Roads | $227 | $867 |
| Public Welfare | $387 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $666 | $194 |
| Parks & Recreation | $3,181 | $987 |
| Housing | $2,961 | $3,880 |
| Sewerage | $37 | $274 |
| Utilities | $3,368 | $650 |
| Interest on Debt | $328 | $0 |
| Other | $6,200 | $4,742 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.