Columbus, OH vs Salisbury, MD
Moving from Columbus to Salisbury? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $429,483 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Salisbury 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 $97,900 in Salisbury, MD (−$2,100).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Salisbury, MD: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 2,212 sqft in Salisbury ($202 vs $226 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Salisbury, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $23,616 | +$5,328 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,863 | +$157 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,685 | +$660 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $2,388 | +$288 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,400 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $9,253 | −$458 |
| Total | $39,130 | $45,205 | +$6,075 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Salisbury, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 92.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 5.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 6.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.27 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $429,483 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | -0.5% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $226 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,968 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |