Columbus, OH vs Wilmington, NC
Moving from Columbus to Wilmington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($333,537 → $446,210 median home) and taxes.
Columbus vs Wilmington 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 $100,858 in Wilmington, NC (+$858).
Livability — Columbus, OH: 69 · Wilmington, NC: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,474 sqft in Columbus vs 2,241 sqft in Wilmington ($202 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbus, OH | Wilmington, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,288 | $20,496 | +$2,208 |
| Groceries | $4,706 | $4,840 | +$134 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,130 | +$105 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,752 | −$348 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,000 | +$700 |
| Taxes | $9,711 | $8,640 | −$1,071 |
| Total | $39,130 | $40,858 | +$1,728 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbus, OH | Wilmington, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.6 | 95.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.20% | 5.08% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.6% | 4.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.38 | $5.43 |
| Median home price | $333,537 | $446,210 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.2% | -0.7% |
| Price per square foot | $202 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,524 | $1,708 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.46% | 0.64% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.6 | 46.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 28.2 | 5.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 50% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |