Cape Girardeau vs Columbia leftover
It's a wash — the same money left over either way
$2,481/mo leftover in Columbia vs $2,481 in Cape Girardeau after tax and rent. $0 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Cape Girardeau leftover
$2,481
a month after tax and rent
Columbia leftover
$2,481
same as origin
Compare Cape Girardeau to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Cape Girardeau.
Monthly gap
Cape Girardeau → Columbia
$2,481
same leftover / month after tax and rent
$2,481 in Columbia · $2,481 in Cape Girardeau · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
$0 / mo
| Per month | Cape Girardeau | Columbia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,458 | $6,848 | +$390 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,442 | $1,576 | +$134 |
| Take-home pay | $5,016 | $5,272 | +$256 |
| Rent | $721 | $1,020 | +$299 |
| Getting around | $542 | $502 | −$40 |
| Groceries | $351 | $350 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $395 | $394 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $219 | $219 | $0 |
| Everything else | $307 | $306 | −$1 |
| Left over | $2,481 | $2,481 | $0 |
To break even in Columbia, you'd need to earn
$82,000
Household gross, versus $77,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Cape Girardeau does now.
The tax difference alone
−$220
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 22.3% in Cape Girardeau, 23.0% in Columbia.
More about Columbia
Cape Girardeau, MO in full
State income tax topping out at 4.7%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $858 and 219 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Columbia, MO in full
State income tax topping out at 4.7%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,214 and 217 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Columbia on Columbia wages.
Columbia → Cape Girardeau →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbia than Cape Girardeau?
A one-bedroom is about $721 in Cape Girardeau versus $1,020 in Columbia. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about the same in both cities. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Columbia have state income tax?
Columbia is in Missouri, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Cape Girardeau to Columbia?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Missouri 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 Cape Girardeau and Columbia 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.