
City comparison
Savannah, Georgia vs Charleston, South Carolina for retirement
Compare published values in their natural units. Highlights appear only when the gap is large enough to matter.
Budget scenario
Traveler includes short-term living adjustments. Local reflects one resident. Couple reflects two adults.
Selected scenario: Couple
Adjust prioritiesUsed for summaries


South Carolina, United States
Charleston
At a glance
Savannah
Best for
Lower one-bedroom rent
Watch out
Primary care access
Charleston
Best for
Stronger primary care access
Watch out
Higher one-bedroom rent
Monthly cost
Compare the selected planning budget and the published one-bedroom rent.
$4,522
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Hybrid
Reason: Budget Ranking Ineligible
Basis: Estimated
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Observed: 2026-07-09T21:54:17.800Z
How measured: Model-limited couple budget: ACS 2BR gross rent plus disclosed food, transportation, and age-65-plus healthcare factors. Added utilities are $0 in the budget breakdown to avoid double-counting because ACS gross rent already includes tenant-paid utilities. Property tax is not applicable to this renter budget; no model buffer is included.
$4,919
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Hybrid
Reason: Budget Ranking Ineligible
Basis: Estimated
Source: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Observed: 2026-07-09T21:54:17.800Z
How measured: Model-limited couple budget: ACS 2BR gross rent plus disclosed food, transportation, and age-65-plus healthcare factors. Added utilities are $0 in the budget breakdown to avoid double-counting because ACS gross rent already includes tenant-paid utilities. Property tax is not applicable to this renter budget; no model buffer is included.
$1,181
Lower by $393Data details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: City-level
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Observed: 2026-07-09T21:54:17.800Z
How measured: ACS B25031_003E median gross rent for occupied rental units with 1 bedroom at Census place grain.
$1,574
Higher by $393Data details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: City-level
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Observed: 2026-07-09T21:54:17.800Z
How measured: ACS B25031_003E median gross rent for occupied rental units with 1 bedroom at Census place grain.
Healthcare
Compare care-access ratings and the local facility context that is available.
Excellent
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Basis: City-level
Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe
How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.
Very Good
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Basis: City-level
Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe
How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.
Good
Lower published ratingData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: City-level
Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe
How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.
Excellent
Clear rating edgeData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: City-level
Source: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities static probe
How measured: OpenStreetMap healthcare amenities within the city radius are mapped to fixed access bands. Sparse mapped amenities should be read as limited local evidence, not a clinical quality rating.
Excellent
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision
Basis: Modeled
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services NPPES NPI Registry
Observed: 2026-07-16T04:41:40.941Z
How measured: Count of unique active location addresses among organization NPIs with Community/Retail Pharmacy taxonomy matching Savannah, GA in the CMS/NPPES NPI Registry. Multi-page results are unioned by NPI until stable. This is exact city/state registry coverage, not a drive-time or radius-weighted count.
Very Good
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision
Basis: Modeled
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services NPPES NPI Registry
Observed: 2026-07-16T04:41:40.941Z
How measured: Count of unique active location addresses among organization NPIs with Community/Retail Pharmacy taxonomy matching Charleston, SC in the CMS/NPPES NPI Registry. Multi-page results are unioned by NPI until stable. This is exact city/state registry coverage, not a drive-time or radius-weighted count.
Safety
Compare published safety ratings without treating crime percentages as quality scores.
Not available
Why unavailable
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Availability: Source unavailable
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Manual Review:Implausibly Sparse Property Crime Rate Reporting Signal
Basis: Published context
Source: Source unavailable
How measured: The reviewed direct crime observation did not pass the publication contract: manual_review:implausibly_sparse_property_crime_rate_reporting_signal.
Good
Data details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: City-level
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Observed: 2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z
How measured: 2024 annual rate calculated from all 12 FBI Crime Data Explorer monthly offense-rate observations for Charleston Police Department (SC0100100).
Not available
Why unavailable
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Availability: Source unavailable
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Manual Review:Implausibly Sparse Property Crime Rate Reporting Signal
Basis: Published context
Source: Source unavailable
How measured: The reviewed direct crime observation did not pass the publication contract: manual_review:implausibly_sparse_property_crime_rate_reporting_signal.
Good
Data details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: City-level
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Observed: 2024-12-31T23:59:59.000Z
How measured: 2024 annual rate calculated from all 12 FBI Crime Data Explorer monthly offense-rate observations for Charleston Police Department (SC0100100).
Climate
Compare overall comfort, seasonal conditions, and air quality.
3.1 / 5 · Good
Lower published ratingData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: Estimated
Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula
How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.
3.8 / 5 · Very Good
Clear rating edgeData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: Estimated
Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula
How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.
2.4 / 5 · Moderate
Lower published ratingData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: Estimated
Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula
How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.
4.1 / 5 · Very Good
Clear rating edgeData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: Estimated
Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula
How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.
3.9 / 5 · Very Good
Lower published ratingData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: Estimated
Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula
How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.
4.7 / 5 · Excellent
Clear rating edgeData details
Evidence: Derived
Basis: Estimated
Source: NOAA/NASA source-backed climate component formula
How measured: Derived climate score formula v1: Summer Feel is scored from annual days above 90F; Winter Feel is scored from annual days below freezing; Climate Comfort averages Summer Feel, Winter Feel, and source-backed comfortable-months score.
4.7 / 5 · Excellent
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision
Basis: Modeled
Source: Open-Meteo / Copernicus CAMS
Observed: 2026-05-18T18:10:58.633Z
How measured: Air Quality is scored from the 2021-2025 average of 43824 hourly Copernicus CAMS PM2.5 model values at the city coordinate. No nearby qualifying EPA multiyear monitor is available, so this remains explicitly modeled.
4.7 / 5 · Excellent
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Modeled Requires Reviewed Decision
Basis: Modeled
Source: Open-Meteo / Copernicus CAMS
Observed: 2026-05-18T17:35:06.466Z
How measured: Air Quality is scored from the 2021-2025 average of 43824 hourly Copernicus CAMS PM2.5 model values at the city coordinate. No nearby qualifying EPA multiyear monitor is available, so this remains explicitly modeled.
Daily life
Compare walkability, internet speed, and age context in their native meaning.
3.1 / 5 · Good
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Model Limited
Basis: Estimated
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Walkability Index
Observed: 2026-07-10T06:36:05.983Z
How measured: Population-weighted mean of EPA National Walkability Index block groups whose calculated polygon centroid falls inside the Census city-geography boundary; normalized from EPA 1-20 to 0-100 after aggregation. EPA NWI is a historical built-environment screen, not a current pedestrian audit. It does not measure every street, disability access, terrain, weather, or current transit frequency.
2.8 / 5 · Good
Planning estimate
Planning details
Use: Planning estimate; not used to determine comparison winners.
Evidence: Modeled
Reason: Model Limited
Basis: Estimated
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Walkability Index
Observed: 2026-07-10T06:36:05.983Z
How measured: Population-weighted mean of EPA National Walkability Index block groups whose calculated polygon centroid falls inside the Census city-geography boundary; normalized from EPA 1-20 to 0-100 after aggregation. EPA NWI is a historical built-environment screen, not a current pedestrian audit. It does not measure every street, disability access, terrain, weather, or current transit frequency.
367 Mbps
Data details
Evidence: Observed
Basis: City-level
Source: Speedtest by Ookla Open Data
How measured: Weighted median of fixed-broadband tile average download speeds within city radius, weighted by tests. Observation window ended 2026-03-31.
337 Mbps
Data details
Evidence: Observed
Basis: City-level
Source: Speedtest by Ookla Open Data
How measured: Weighted median of fixed-broadband tile average download speeds within city radius, weighted by tests. Observation window ended 2026-03-31.
Scouting worksheet
Print this view and take these checks into calls, tours, or a trial stay.
Savannah
- Monthly housing quote
- Drive time to preferred care
- Grocery and pharmacy route
- Neighborhood comfort and mobility
Notes
Charleston
- Monthly housing quote
- Drive time to preferred care
- Grocery and pharmacy route
- Neighborhood comfort and mobility
Notes