Kokomo vs Columbus leftover
You'd keep $313 more a month in Columbus
$2,700/mo leftover in Columbus vs $2,387 in Kokomo after tax and rent ($313 more). +$3,756 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Kokomo leftover
$2,387
a month after tax and rent
Columbus leftover
$2,700
+$313 vs Kokomo
Compare Kokomo to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Kokomo.
Monthly gap
Kokomo → Columbus
$313
more / month in Columbus
$2,700 in Columbus · $2,387 in Kokomo · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
+$313 / mo
| Per month | Kokomo | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,708 | $7,597 | +$888 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,590 | $1,893 | +$303 |
| Take-home pay | $5,119 | $5,704 | +$585 |
| Rent | $766 | $1,084 | +$318 |
| Getting around | $594 | $549 | −$45 |
| Groceries | $378 | $378 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $426 | $426 | $0 |
| Utilities | $237 | $237 | $0 |
| Everything else | $331 | $331 | $0 |
| Left over | $2,387 | $2,700 | +$313 |
To break even in Columbus, you'd need to earn
$85,500
Household gross, versus $80,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Kokomo does now.
The tax difference alone
−$480
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.7% in Kokomo, 24.9% in Columbus.
More about Columbus
Kokomo, IN in full
A flat 3% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $912 and 195 sunny days; commutes average 20 minutes.
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 → Kokomo →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbus than Kokomo?
A one-bedroom is about $766 in Kokomo versus $1,084 in Columbus. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $313 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 Kokomo 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 Kokomo 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.