Columbus, GA vs Cleveland, OH
Moving from Columbus to Cleveland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($209,527 → $252,210 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Cleveland 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 $102,880 in Cleveland, OH (+$2,880).
Livability — Columbus, GA: 76 · Cleveland, OH: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,892 sqft in Columbus vs 3,270 sqft in Cleveland ($102 vs $153 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, GA | Cleveland, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,336 | $17,532 | +$2,196 |
| Groceries | $4,816 | $4,830 | +$14 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,025 | −$490 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $2,100 | +$444 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,300 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $9,327 | $9,518 | +$191 |
| Total | $36,750 | $38,305 | +$1,555 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, GA | Cleveland, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.8 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.87% | 5.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.06 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $209,527 | $252,210 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 4.3% |
| Price per square foot | $102 | $153 |
| Median rent | $1,278 | $1,461 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.79% | 1.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 41.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 63.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 49% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |