#34 of 66 for you
Columbus, OH
The most affordable large metro with a growing white-collar job base.
Left over monthly
$2,646
Versus Chicago
+$266/mo
+$3,192 a year
Local pay for your job
$90,995
Local wages run -3% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,888
- Rent$1,174
- Other living costs$1,875
- Left over$2,646
Pay and tax, per year
- Gross household pay
- $90,995
- Federal income tax
- −$11,633
- Social Security and Medicare
- −$6,961
- State income tax (OH)
- −$1,786
- City / county wage tax
- −$2,275
- Take-home pay
- $68,340
- Effective tax rate
- 24.9%
Living costs, per month
- Rent, 1br
- $1,174
- Groceries
- $372
- Getting around
- $526
- Healthcare
- $419
- Utilities and internet
- $233
- Everything else
- $326
- Total spending
- $3,049
Left over each month
$7,583 gross, minus $1,888 in tax and $3,049 in living costs.
$2,646
What living here is like
- Weather
- 179 sunny days, 85°F in July, 21°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 24 minutes each way
- Size
- 2.2M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $274,300 — roughly $1,936/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- Ohio income tax, plus a 2.50% city wage tax. Sales tax 7.2%, property tax 1.30%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 67
- Sun and mild weather
- 53
- Access to the outdoors
- 56
- City life and culture
- 66
- A short commute
- 70
Chicago vs Columbus, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Seattle, WA$3,406/mo
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
- Austin, TX$3,176/mo
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.