Is Hilton Head Island cheaper than Kingston?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Hilton Head Island and Kingston metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Hilton Head Island or Kingston?

Household incomes are similar — $88,348 in the Hilton Head Island metro versus $87,847 in Kingston (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Does a paycheck go further in Hilton Head Island or Kingston?

A paycheck stretches further in Hilton Head Island. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $90,135 there versus $87,229 in Kingston.

Which has cheaper rent, Hilton Head Island or Kingston?

Kingston has cheaper rent — a median of $1,586/mo versus $1,903/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Hilton Head Island vs Kingston

Metro-area medians — Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metro Area vs Kingston, NY Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Hilton Head Island comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.

Hilton Head Island and Kingston are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Hilton Head Island.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Hilton Head Island, SC

$58,400

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$59,582

real value after local prices

Kingston, NY

$57,794

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$57,387

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Hilton Head Island leaves you about $2,195/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Hilton Head Island

Kingston

Livability (CityLedger)

72/100

57/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

98.0

100.7

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$90,135

$87,229

Median household income

$88,348

$87,847

Median rent

$1,903/mo

$1,586/mo

Median home value

$511,100

$389,100

Unemployment

2.7%

5.2%

Bachelor's degree or higher

42.9%

39%

Average commute

26.5 min

27.9 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

67°F

49°F

Choose Hilton Head Island for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher
+ Average commute

Full Hilton Head Island profile →

Choose Kingston for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value

Full Kingston profile →

Hilton Head Island vs Kingston — frequently asked

Is Hilton Head Island cheaper than Kingston?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Hilton Head Island and Kingston metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Hilton Head Island or Kingston?: Household incomes are similar — $88,348 in the Hilton Head Island metro versus $87,847 in Kingston (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).
Does a paycheck go further in Hilton Head Island or Kingston?: A paycheck stretches further in Hilton Head Island. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $90,135 there versus $87,229 in Kingston.
Which has cheaper rent, Hilton Head Island or Kingston?: Kingston has cheaper rent — a median of $1,586/mo versus $1,903/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).