Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Columbus's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Columbus?
Your $100,000 in Columbus has the same purchasing power as $114,168 in the average US city. You'd need $14,168 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Columbus's cost index of 88, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Columbus? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: your dollar carries more weight here and solidly above-average earnings, plus 6 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Columbus sits at 88 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 12% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $1,081/mo against a typical household income of $75,114, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Median household income in Columbus is $75,114, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Columbus reports roughly 138 crime incidents per 100,000 residents, well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. As always, citywide numbers paper over real differences between neighborhoods — but the broader trend here is on the calmer end of the US distribution.
Columbus earns a Walk Score of 79/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Columbus's Bike Score is 69/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Columbus's air quality index averages about 37 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Columbus is about 18 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
42% of adults 25 and over in Columbus hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Columbus's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Columbus gets a handful of meaningful snow days each year. Winters average about 26°F — cold enough for several inches at a time, warm enough for everything to melt between storms.
Cold but workable. Winter in Columbus averages about 26°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Columbus runs about 85°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Columbus falls in roughly USDA Zone 8. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Columbus is at about 630 feet (192 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
By the numbers, yes. Columbus reports roughly 138 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. The big caveat applies as always: every city has neighborhoods that look nothing like the citywide average. But the citywide average here is genuinely good.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Columbus's composite cost-of-living index is 88, roughly 12% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Yes — Columbus is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 79/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $61,313 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Columbus runs about $1,081/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.