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Irmo ranks as S.C.’s most affordable location in new study

Staff Report //March 11, 2020//

Irmo ranks as S.C.’s most affordable location in new study

Staff Report //March 11, 2020//

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Irmo topped the list of most affordable places to live in South Carolina in a new study from financial website SmartAsset.

The sixth annual study measured factors including home costs and taxes relative to the local median income.

Closing costs averaged $2,555 in the Columbia suburb, the study found, with annual property tax averaging $837. Annual mortgage payments in Irmo averaged $6,435, while the average cost of homeowner’s insurance was $969. With an area median income of $63,713, that added up to a state-best affordability index of 57.93, the study found.

Belvedere ranked second among state locations, while Red Bank was third, Piedmont fourth and Sangaree, an unincorporated community in Berkeley County, ranked fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Parker and Ladson.

The study included all areas with a population of 5,000 or more and measured the cost of owning a home during a five-year period. Each city was indexed on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 being most affordable.

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