McAllen, TX vs Columbus, OH
Moving from McAllen to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($193,978 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
McAllen 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 McAllen, TX, you'd need about $109,939 in Columbus, OH (+$9,939).
Livability — McAllen, TX: 78 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,411 sqft in McAllen vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($92 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | McAllen, TX | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,536 | $18,288 | +$4,752 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,706 | +$60 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,025 | −$650 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,100 | +$264 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,300 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $4,917 | $9,711 | +$4,794 |
| Total | $32,211 | $39,130 | +$6,920 |
Side by side
| Metric | McAllen, TX | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 86.1 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.61% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.0% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.90 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $193,978 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.6% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $92 | $202 |
| Median rent | $1,128 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.82% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 32.4 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 67% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |