2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Charleston, SC vs Santa Maria, CA

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Highlights
- Household income in Santa Maria, is 4% less than it is in Charleston and is 6% above the National Average.
- Charleston unemployment rate is 4.0%.
- Santa Maria unemployment rate is 11.6%.
 Charleston, SCSanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock11.6%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth35.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes9.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock8.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$50,240  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$73,300$69,021
 Family Median Income$106,321  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Charleston, SCSanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock6.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.6%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock6.7%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K7.4%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.1%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.2%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.2%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K12.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock18.2%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K8.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock5.4%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Charleston, SCSanta Maria, CAUnited States
 Management, business, finance21.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock3.5%6.5%
 Community, social services1.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.4%1.2%
 Education, library6.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.4%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology9.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock5.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.5%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock4.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.3%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.7%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock20.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.7%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock13.9%13.1%
Reviews for Charleston    76 Reviews

Over 2 years ago

Charleston is beautiful and unique and incredibly special. If you don't believe me, just ask Anthony Bourdain in his Parts Unknown episode - and he was an insightful  More

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Serious lack of health care and "good old boys club" whereby doctors will not even see the patient but diagnose them based on referring doctor. My sister died there for  More

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Over 5 years ago

Boy, has this once beautiful town changed...for the worse! I initially moved here 20 years ago because the people were so nice, no traffic, great choice of hospitals,  More

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Reviews for Santa Maria    12 Reviews

Over 6 years ago

I live in Orcutt which is a town of around 35,000 on the south side of Santa Maria. Santa Maria has, as everyone has noted, the best climate in the world. It never  More

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I have lived in Santa Maria / Orcutt for several years, but it is time to leave. I have no issues with the weather. Our climate is mild and comfortable with no extremes.  More

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The weather is very mild without a huge temperature change with the seasons. The winters are chilly but not cold and the summers are warm but not hot. Of course there  More

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