Detroit, MI → Columbus, OH
You'd keep $150 more a month in Columbus
+$1,800 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 339 households moved Detroit → Columbus (avg AGI $73,764). 277 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Detroit | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $7,547 | −$78 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,049 | $1,875 | −$174 |
| Take-home pay | $5,576 | $5,672 | +$96 |
| Rent | $1,194 | $1,174 | −$20 |
| Getting around | $560 | $526 | −$34 |
| Groceries | $372 | $372 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $419 | $419 | $0 |
| Utilities | $233 | $233 | $0 |
| Everything else | $326 | $326 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,473 | $2,623 | +$150 |
To break even in Columbus, you'd need to earn
$88,000
Household gross, versus $91,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Detroit does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,808
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.9% in Detroit, 24.8% in Columbus.
More about Columbus
Detroit, MI in full
Engineering wages against some of the cheapest urban housing in America.
Columbus, OH in full
The most affordable large metro with a growing white-collar job base.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Columbus on Columbus wages.
Columbus → Detroit →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.