How far will your $1,200 coronavirus stimulus check go in SC? Here’s a cost breakdown

Stimulus checks should start arriving in mailboxes and bank accounts soon, government officials say, granting millions of people a one-time cash infusion of $1,200 or more amid the financial chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Americans have waited weeks for the money, but depending where they live, it might not go very far.

For many South Carolinians, rent will eat up most, if not all, of their $1,200 check.

The median rent in the state is $1,383, according to Zillow. The Palmetto State is still below the nationwide median of $1,594.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the fair market value for a one-bedroom rental in North Charleston is $1,035 a month; in Columbia it’s $818 a month, and $679 in Spartanburg.

But the cheapest rent in the state is in Cherokee County, where the typical fair market value for a one bedroom is $500 flat, according to HUD data. Fair market values also take into account electricity, water and other essential utilities.

Apartment living is considerably cheaper -- the statewide average rent for a one-bedroom unit is $780, according to ApartmentList. The national average is $965.

If rent isn’t an issue, then $1,200 can buy a lot of groceries, too. Or gasoline.

Single SC residents with no children are expected to spend around $250 a month on food, MIT data shows, and an average of $360 on transportation.

As parents already know, all costs grow with children in the picture -- and the MIT data supports that as well. The COVID stimulus bill took the extra expenses of child rearing into consideration, and parents are eligible for additional funds of $500 per kid.

Married couples stand to receive up to $2,400.

Nearly a third of Americans say their stimulus check won’t be enough to “sustain their financial well-being for even a month,” according to a study by personal finance site Bankrate, and another 8 percent said it’s too little to do them any good at all.

Still, 80 percent surveyed said the relief money will be “important to their financial well-being.” And while a small minority said they plan to put the money toward non-essential purchases, half said they’d use it to pay off bills, according to the study.

This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 7:54 PM.