Columbus, OH → Los Angeles, CA
Moving to Los Angeles costs you $946 a month
−$11,352 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 376 households moved Columbus → Los Angeles (avg AGI $94,040). 356 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Columbus | Los Angeles | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $8,756 | +$1,173 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,888 | $2,381 | +$493 |
| Take-home pay | $5,695 | $6,375 | +$680 |
| Rent | $1,174 | $2,276 | +$1,102 |
| Getting around | $526 | $674 | +$148 |
| Groceries | $372 | $476 | +$104 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $536 | +$117 |
| Utilities | $233 | $298 | +$65 |
| Everything else | $326 | $417 | +$91 |
| Left over | $2,646 | $1,700 | −$946 |
To break even in Los Angeles, you'd need to earn
$124,000
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
−$1,738
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in Columbus, 27.2% in Los Angeles.
More about Los Angeles
Columbus, OH in full
The most affordable large metro with a growing white-collar job base.
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Los Angeles on Los Angeles wages.
Los Angeles → Columbus →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.