What your paycheck buys
in the CSRA

• The Augusta metro's overall price level sits about 8% below the national average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024).
• Housing is where towns differ most. The median owner-occupied home value runs from $178,400 in Augusta to $366,100 in Evans (Census, 2020-2024).
• Rents follow the same pattern: $1,142 a month at the median in Augusta, $1,617 in Evans (Census, 2020-2024).
• Electricity costs more on the South Carolina side of the river: 15.40 cents per kWh vs 13.92 in Georgia (EIA, 2024 annual average). Natural gas runs the other way: $18.19 per thousand cubic feet in Georgia vs $16.91 in South Carolina (EIA, 2024).
• Regular gasoline averaged about $4.07 a gallon across the Lower Atlantic region (which includes Georgia and South Carolina) in September 2026 (EIA weekly survey).

All figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024. "Owner cost" is the median selected monthly owner cost for homeowners with a mortgage. Medians are in 2024 dollars where the Census reports them that way.

What the housing numbers mean

Augusta's median home value ($178,400) is less than half of Evans' ($366,100). That gap is the single biggest cost-of-living difference inside the CSRA. It reflects housing stock age and type as much as desirability: Augusta's consolidated area includes older neighborhoods and a large renter population (about half of households rent), while Evans is mostly newer owner-occupied subdivisions (about 88% owner-occupied).

The rent gap is narrower than the home-price gap. Median gross rent in Evans ($1,617) runs about 42% above Augusta's ($1,142). Renters feel less of the town-to-town spread than buyers do.

Monthly owner costs track home values. In Evans the median homeowner with a mortgage pays $2,070 a month; in Augusta, $1,382. Those figures include mortgage, taxes, and insurance as the Census defines selected monthly owner costs.

Income moves with housing costs. Evans' median household income ($125,098) is well above the others, which is consistent with its newer, higher-priced housing stock. Compare a town's income column with its housing column before judging whether it is affordable for you: a higher price next to a higher income can mean the same budget math as a lower price next to a lower income.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes Regional Price Parities (RPPs): price levels expressed as a percentage of the national average (100) for a given year, based on the average prices consumers pay for the mix of goods and services in each region.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area.

Reading it plainly: an all-items index of 91.9 means the metro's overall price level sits about 8% below the national average. The index has held roughly steady in the low 90s for five years (89.7 in 2020, 91.9 in 2021, 91.8 in 2022, 91.2 in 2023, 91.9 in 2024). Note the RPP covers the whole metro, not individual towns: it will not tell you whether Evans or Augusta is cheaper. The town table above does that job for housing.

Energy figures are statewide averages. Your actual bill depends on your provider and rate plan: Georgia Power serves much of the Georgia side, with electric cooperatives in parts of Columbia County; Dominion Energy and cooperatives serve the South Carolina side.

What stands out: electricity averages about 11% more per kilowatt-hour in South Carolina than in Georgia, while natural gas averages about 7% less. Most CSRA homes heat and cool electrically, so the electricity figure is the one that moves the monthly budget. These are annual averages; summer cooling months run higher.

The CSRA is car country. There is no town-level official dataset for transportation costs, so here is what the official sources do say.

• Gasoline: EIA's weekly retail survey averaged about $4.07 a gallon for regular gasoline across the Lower Atlantic region (the federal PADD 1C region, which includes both Georgia and South Carolina) in September 2026. Prices move weekly; treat any single figure as a snapshot.
• Commutes: the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates put mean travel time to work at 26.2 minutes in Grovetown, the longest of the six towns, and 20.6 minutes in Martinez, the shortest. Budget gas and time together: a longer commute from a cheaper town can erase the housing savings.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, American Community Survey 2020-2024.

• Transit: Augusta Transit runs bus service in Richmond County, but there is no official town-by-town transit cost comparison. If you plan to ride rather than drive, check current fares with the transit agency directly.

No official source publishes grocery prices by town. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks food prices at the regional level, and the same regional chains (Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Food Lion) serve the whole CSRA, so town-to-town grocery differences are small compared with the housing differences above. If grocery costs are central to your budget, the BLS Consumer Price Index for the South region is the authoritative trend to watch, not a town ranking that does not exist.

• Housing and income by town: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024 (median value of owner-occupied housing units; median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage; median gross rent; median household income in 2024 dollars). Places: Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA; Grovetown city, GA; Evans CDP, GA; Martinez CDP, GA; North Augusta city, SC; Aiken city, SC.
• Overall price level: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metropolitan area, 2020-2024 (Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA; U.S. = 100).
• Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (average price to ultimate customers, residential sector), 2024 annual.
• Natural gas: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Annual 2024, Table 23 (average price delivered to residential consumers), 2024.
• Gasoline: U.S. Energy Information Administration, weekly retail gasoline survey, Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C), September 2026 average.

Figures are medians or averages as labeled. Sampling error exists in all survey estimates; small differences between towns may not be statistically meaningful. Boundaries follow Census place definitions, which do not always match postal addresses or school zones. Nothing here is financial advice.