Columbus, GA vs Boston, MA
Moving from Columbus to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($209,527 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Boston 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 Columbus, GA, you'd need about $124,259 in Boston, MA (+$24,259).
Livability — Columbus, GA: 76 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,892 sqft in Columbus vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($102 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, GA | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,336 | $38,532 | +$23,196 |
| Groceries | $4,816 | $5,040 | +$224 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,210 | −$305 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,180 | +$1,524 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,800 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $9,327 | $17,694 | +$8,367 |
| Total | $36,750 | $69,455 | +$32,706 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, GA | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.8 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.87% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.06 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $209,527 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $102 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,278 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.79% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |