City comparison
Akron, OH is about 100 miles (175 km) from Columbus, OH in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 125 miles, or about 2 h 15 min behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Akron, OH to Columbus, OH takes about 13 min, covering roughly 100 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Akron, OH is on Eastern Time and Columbus, OH is on Central Time — a 1-hour difference. When it's noon in Akron, it's 11 a.m. in Columbus, which puts Akron 1 hours ahead.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Columbus has a population of 902,449, vs 190,273 in Akron — about 4.7× larger by population. By land area, Columbus covers about 220 sq mi vs 62 sq mi for Akron.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Akron | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $887/mo | $1,161/mo | 30.9% higher in Columbus |
| Median home value | $99,700 | $212,500 | 113.1% higher in Columbus |
| Median household income | $46,596 | $62,994 | 35.2% higher in Columbus |
| Groceries index | 93.9 | 93.9 | ≈ equal |
| Utilities index | 96.0 | 95.2 | 0.9% higher in Akron |
| Transportation index | 98.8 | 98.8 | ≈ equal |
| Healthcare index | 99.0 | 99.0 | ≈ equal |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Akron, you'd need $105,717 in Columbus to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Akron, OH is about 5.4% cheaper overall than Columbus, OH, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 16% higher in Columbus than in Akron. If you earn $80,000 in Akron, you'd need about $84,574 in Columbus to keep the same standard of living.