Columbus, OH vs Tulsa, OK
Moving from Columbus to Tulsa? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $253,725 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Tulsa 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 $94,996 in Tulsa, OK (−$5,004).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Tulsa, OK: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 3,745 sqft in Tulsa ($202 vs $134 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Tulsa, OK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $16,224 | −$2,064 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,667 | −$39 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,575 | +$550 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,440 | −$660 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $4,400 | +$3,100 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $9,670 | −$41 |
| Total | $39,130 | $39,976 | +$846 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Tulsa, OK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 89.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 5.14% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 4.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.12 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $253,725 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $134 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,352 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 8.99% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 4.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.94% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $4,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $83 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 94 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 41.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 8.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |