Knoxville, TN vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Knoxville to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($367,158 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Knoxville vs Columbus 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 Knoxville, TN, you'd need about $102,598 in Columbus, OH (+$2,598).
Livability — Knoxville, TN: 68 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,723 sqft in Knoxville vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($184 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Knoxville, TN | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,144 | $18,288 | −$2,856 |
| Groceries | $4,715 | $4,706 | −$8 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,025 | −$105 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $2,100 | +$492 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $1,300 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $4,576 | $9,711 | +$5,136 |
| Total | $37,372 | $39,130 | +$1,758 |
Side by side
| Metric | Knoxville, TN | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.2 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.24% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.5% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $367,158 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.8% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $184 | $202 |
| Median rent | $1,762 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $121 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $80 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.5 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 4.7 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |