2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Fairfax, VA vs Columbia, SC

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Columbia or is it cheaper to live in Fairfax?
- Columbia is 38.6% less expensive than Fairfax.

Which city has more affordable housing, Columbia or Fairfax?
- Columbia housing costs are 73.9% less expensive than Fairfax housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Fairfax or is Health Care more affordable in Columbia.
- Health related expenses are 12.3% more in Columbia.
 Fairfax, VAColumbia, SCUnited States
 Overall  Unlock87.4100
 Food & Groceries114.1  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock115.3100
 Housing223.8  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$204,100$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock76.4100
 Miscellaneous145.6  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Fairfax    28 Reviews

I lived in the area for 17 years through high school until I eventually became a truck driver. Having now seen most states extensively, I wanted to fairly review what  More

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Living in Fairfax, or any of the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC, means dealing with highways that are a Gordian knot of converging lanes and overpasses, making long  More

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Over 10 years ago

The Cost of living here is high. Though the standard of living is also high, unless you're making over 50,000/year, it's difficult to both live and build any sort of  More

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Reviews for Columbia    50 Reviews

Over 2 years ago

I love living in Columbia! I recently graduated from USC and plan to stay. I read the reviews posted here and it shows that like many cities, your experience will depend  More

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Loved living in Columbia, SC prior to my job transfer. It's the perfect size - plenty to do, but still a laid back place. People are extremely friendly, there are  More

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Columbia is such a unique and underrated place. It has a lot of character and history, and good nature trails. Everything feels accessible (by car) and you can get from  More

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