Columbus, OH vs Salem, OR
Moving from Columbus to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Salem 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 $108,273 in Salem, OR (+$8,273).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($202 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $19,536 | +$1,248 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $5,239 | +$533 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,680 | +$655 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,704 | −$396 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $900 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $13,135 | +$3,424 |
| Total | $39,130 | $44,194 | +$5,064 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |