Indianapolis vs Columbus leftover
You'd keep $231 more a month in Columbus
$2,710/mo leftover in Columbus vs $2,479 in Indianapolis after tax and rent ($231 more). +$2,772 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Indianapolis leftover
$2,479
a month after tax and rent
Columbus leftover
$2,710
+$231 vs Indianapolis
Compare Indianapolis to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Indianapolis.
Monthly gap
Indianapolis → Columbus
$231
more / month in Columbus
$2,710 in Columbus · $2,479 in Indianapolis · 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, 588 households moved Indianapolis → Columbus (avg AGI $62,488). 755 went the other way. The whole move →
+$231 / mo
| Per month | Indianapolis | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,612 | +$195 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,870 | $1,898 | +$28 |
| Take-home pay | $5,547 | $5,714 | +$167 |
| Rent | $1,189 | $1,084 | −$105 |
| Getting around | $545 | $549 | +$4 |
| Groceries | $368 | $378 | +$10 |
| Healthcare | $414 | $426 | +$12 |
| Utilities | $230 | $237 | +$7 |
| Everything else | $322 | $331 | +$9 |
| Left over | $2,479 | $2,710 | +$231 |
To break even in Columbus, you'd need to earn
$87,000
Household gross, versus $89,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Indianapolis does now.
The tax difference alone
+$357
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.2% in Indianapolis, 24.9% in Columbus.
More about Columbus
Indianapolis, IN in full
Cheap housing, a 3% flat state tax, and a short commute.
Columbus, IN in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,290 and 198 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Columbus on Columbus wages.
Columbus → Indianapolis →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbus than Indianapolis?
A one-bedroom is about $1,189 in Indianapolis versus $1,084 in Columbus. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $231 a month higher in Columbus. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Columbus have state income tax?
Columbus is in Indiana, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.50%.
What changes if you move from Indianapolis to Columbus?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Indiana 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 Indianapolis and Columbus 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.