Moving from Columbus to Boston
Moving to Boston costs you $748 a month
−$8,976 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Columbus leftover
$2,646
a month after tax and rent
Boston leftover
$1,898
−$748 vs Columbus
In 2022-2023, 214 households moved Columbus → Boston (avg AGI $64,547). 218 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Columbus | Boston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $9,069 | +$1,485 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,888 | $2,425 | +$537 |
| Take-home pay | $5,695 | $6,644 | +$948 |
| Rent | $1,174 | $2,619 | +$1,445 |
| Getting around | $526 | $445 | −$81 |
| Groceries | $372 | $464 | +$92 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $522 | +$103 |
| Utilities | $233 | $290 | +$57 |
| Everything else | $326 | $406 | +$80 |
| Left over | $2,646 | $1,898 | −$748 |
To break even in Boston, you'd need to earn
$122,500
Household gross, versus $91,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Columbus does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,160
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in Columbus, 26.7% in Boston.
More about Boston
Columbus, OH in full
The most affordable large metro with a growing white-collar job base.
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Boston on Boston wages.
Boston → Columbus →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Boston than Columbus?
A one-bedroom is about $1,174 in Columbus versus $2,619 in Boston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $748 a month lower in Boston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Boston have state income tax?
Boston is in Massachusetts, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Columbus to Boston?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Massachusetts 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.
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.