Moving from Raleigh to Columbus
Moving to Columbus costs you $107 a month
−$1,284 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
Raleigh leftover
$2,740
a month after tax and rent
Columbus leftover
$2,633
−$107 vs Raleigh
In 2022-2023, 85 households moved Raleigh → Columbus (avg AGI $94,259). 110 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Raleigh | Columbus | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,875 | $7,563 | −$312 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,926 | $1,881 | −$45 |
| Take-home pay | $5,949 | $5,682 | −$267 |
| Rent | $1,249 | $1,174 | −$75 |
| Getting around | $568 | $526 | −$42 |
| Groceries | $384 | $372 | −$12 |
| Healthcare | $432 | $419 | −$13 |
| Utilities | $240 | $233 | −$7 |
| Everything else | $336 | $326 | −$10 |
| Left over | $2,740 | $2,633 | −$107 |
To break even in Columbus, you'd need to earn
$92,500
Household gross, versus $94,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Raleigh does now.
The tax difference alone
−$574
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.5% in Raleigh, 24.9% in Columbus.
More about Columbus
Raleigh, NC in full
Research Triangle salaries, low taxes, and not much to do downtown.
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 → Raleigh →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Columbus than Raleigh?
A one-bedroom is about $1,249 in Raleigh versus $1,174 in Columbus. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $107 a month lower in Columbus. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Columbus have state income tax?
Columbus is in Ohio, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 2.50%.
What changes if you move from Raleigh to Columbus?
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.
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.