Columbus vs Springfield leftover
Moving to Springfield costs you $162 a month
$2,482/mo leftover in Springfield vs $2,644 in Columbus after tax and rent ($162 less). −$1,944 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
Springfield leftover
$2,482
−$162 vs Columbus
Compare Columbus to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Columbus.
Monthly gap
Columbus → Springfield
$162
less / month in Columbus
$2,482 in Springfield · $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, 535 households moved Columbus → Springfield (avg AGI $51,450). 409 went the other way. The whole move →
−$162 / mo
| Per month | Columbus | Springfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,583 | $6,833 | −$750 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,888 | $1,592 | −$296 |
| Take-home pay | $5,695 | $5,241 | −$454 |
| Rent | $1,176 | $829 | −$347 |
| Getting around | $526 | $571 | +$45 |
| Groceries | $372 | $375 | +$3 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $422 | +$3 |
| Utilities | $233 | $234 | +$1 |
| Everything else | $326 | $328 | +$2 |
| Left over | $2,644 | $2,482 | −$162 |
To break even in Springfield, you'd need to earn
$85,000
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
+$883
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.9% in Columbus, 23.3% in Springfield.
More about Springfield
Columbus, OH in full
The most affordable large metro with a growing white-collar job base.
Springfield, OH in full
State income tax topping out at 3.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $987 and 188 sunny days; commutes average 23 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Springfield on Springfield wages.
Springfield → Columbus →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Springfield than Columbus?
A one-bedroom is about $1,176 in Columbus versus $829 in Springfield. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $162 a month lower in Springfield. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Springfield have state income tax?
Springfield is in Ohio, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 2.00%.
What changes if you move from Columbus to Springfield?
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 Springfield 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.