Columbus, OH vs McAllen, TX
Moving from Columbus to McAllen? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $193,978 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs McAllen 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, OH, you'd need about $90,960 in McAllen, TX (−$9,040).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · McAllen, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 5,411 sqft in McAllen ($202 vs $92 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | McAllen, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $13,536 | −$4,752 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,647 | −$59 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,675 | +$650 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,836 | −$264 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $3,600 | +$2,300 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $4,917 | −$4,794 |
| Total | $39,130 | $32,211 | −$6,919 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | McAllen, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 86.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 7.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $4.90 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $193,978 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | 0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $92 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,128 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 1.82% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 32.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 67% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |