Columbus vs Dayton leftover
Moving to Dayton costs you $79 a month
$2,565/mo leftover in Dayton vs $2,644 in Columbus after tax and rent ($79 less). −$948 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Columbus leftover
$2,644
a month after tax and rent
Dayton leftover
$2,565
−$79 vs Columbus
Compare Columbus to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Columbus.
Monthly gap
Columbus → Dayton
$79
less / month in Columbus
$2,565 in Dayton · $2,644 in Columbus · 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, 939 households moved Columbus → Dayton (avg AGI $57,116). 1,233 went the other way. The whole move →
−$79 / mo
| Per month | Columbus | Dayton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $7,200 | −$383 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,888 | $1,718 | −$170 |
| Take-home pay | $5,695 | $5,482 | −$213 |
| Rent | $1,176 | $1,018 | −$158 |
| Getting around | $526 | $540 | +$14 |
| Groceries | $372 | $375 | +$3 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $422 | +$3 |
| Utilities | $233 | $234 | +$1 |
| Everything else | $326 | $328 | +$2 |
| Left over | $2,644 | $2,565 | −$79 |
To break even in Dayton, you'd need to earn
$88,000
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
+$673
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in Columbus, 23.9% in Dayton.
More about Dayton
Columbus, OH in full
The most affordable large metro with a growing white-collar job base.
Dayton, OH in full
State income tax topping out at 3.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,212 and 190 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Dayton on Dayton wages.
Dayton → Columbus →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Dayton than Columbus?
A one-bedroom is about $1,176 in Columbus versus $1,018 in Dayton. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $79 a month lower in Dayton. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Dayton have state income tax?
Dayton is in Ohio, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 2.00%.
What changes if you move from Columbus to Dayton?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Ohio 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 Columbus and Dayton 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.