Cleveland, OH vs Columbus, GA
Moving from Cleveland to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($252,210 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
Cleveland vs Columbus at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Cleveland, OH, you'd need about $97,200 in Columbus, GA (−$2,800).
Livability — Cleveland, OH: 71 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,270 sqft in Cleveland vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($153 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Cleveland, OH | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,532 | $15,336 | −$2,196 |
| Groceries | $4,830 | $4,816 | −$14 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,515 | +$490 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,656 | −$444 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,100 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $9,518 | $9,327 | −$191 |
| Total | $38,305 | $36,750 | −$1,555 |
Side by side
| Metric | Cleveland, OH | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.4 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.88% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.8% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $252,210 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.3% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $153 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,461 | $1,278 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 1.84% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 63.8 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 49% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |