Atlanta vs Columbus leftover
Moving to Columbus costs you $459 a month
$2,023/mo leftover in Columbus vs $2,482 in Atlanta after tax and rent ($459 less). −$5,508 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Atlanta leftover
$2,482
a month after tax and rent
Columbus leftover
$2,023
−$459 vs Atlanta
Compare Atlanta to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Atlanta.
Monthly gap
Atlanta → Columbus
$459
less / month in Atlanta
$2,023 in Columbus · $2,482 in Atlanta · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 796 households moved Atlanta → Columbus (avg AGI $43,835). 809 went the other way. The whole move →
−$459 / mo
| Per month | Atlanta | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $6,589 | −$1,286 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,993 | $1,545 | −$448 |
| Take-home pay | $5,882 | $5,044 | −$838 |
| Rent | $1,399 | $1,063 | −$336 |
| Getting around | $580 | $560 | −$20 |
| Groceries | $392 | $386 | −$6 |
| Healthcare | $441 | $434 | −$7 |
| Utilities | $245 | $241 | −$4 |
| Everything else | $343 | $337 | −$6 |
| Left over | $2,482 | $2,023 | −$459 |
To break even in Columbus, you'd need to earn
$87,500
Household gross, versus $94,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Atlanta does now.
The tax difference alone
+$801
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.3% in Atlanta, 23.4% in Columbus.
More about Columbus
Atlanta, GA in full
Big-city pay at mid-market housing costs, with a 31-minute average commute.
Columbus, GA in full
A flat 5.19% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,265 and 222 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Columbus on Columbus wages.
Columbus → Atlanta →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbus than Atlanta?
A one-bedroom is about $1,399 in Atlanta versus $1,063 in Columbus. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $459 a month lower in Columbus. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Columbus have state income tax?
Columbus is in Georgia, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Atlanta to Columbus?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Georgia tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Atlanta and Columbus moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.