Cost of Living in Johns Island
Johns Island runs genuinely expensive on housing specifically, but carries a comparatively low effective property tax rate and an above-state-average median household income that partly offsets that premium.
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Learn moreHousing is the dominant cost-of-living driver
A $660,000 median sale price (3-mo trailing thru May 2026, Redfin) sits well above the national median and above several other Lowcountry markets in this same batch, including Goose Creek's $388,767 and Moncks Corner's $361K -- the single largest driver of Johns Island's overall cost-of-living premium.
Income runs above the state average, with a real, below-average poverty rate
Median household income is cited at approximately $101,529, with a 7.6% poverty rate meaningfully below South Carolina's statewide 13.9% rate -- a genuinely favorable income-to-poverty ratio, even though it does little to soften the entry cost for first-time buyers facing that $660K median.
A comparatively low effective property tax rate
Johns Island's median effective property tax rate is cited at 0.54%, below both South Carolina's statewide median (0.66%) and the national median (1.02%) -- a real, structural offset against the high sale-price premium.
South Carolina's real two-bracket income tax, restated at the local level
South Carolina's income tax is genuinely two-bracket and graduated (1.99% under $30,000 taxable income, 5.21% above, per Act 110 signed March 30, 2026) -- a statewide fact, not Johns Island-specific, but a real ongoing cost for anyone budgeting a relocation here.
Key takeaways
- Housing is the dominant cost driver -- a $660,000 median sale price, well above several other markets in this same Lowcountry batch.
- Median household income ($101,529) runs above the state average, with a poverty rate (7.6%) well below South Carolina's 13.9% statewide rate.
- Effective property tax rate (0.54%) runs below both the SC state median and the national median.
- South Carolina's real, two-bracket 1.99%/5.21% income tax (2026) applies statewide.
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