Mobile, AL vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Mobile to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($197,857 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Mobile 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 Mobile, AL, you'd need about $106,640 in Columbus, OH (+$6,640).
Livability — Mobile, AL: 73 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,181 sqft in Mobile vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($97 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Mobile, AL | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,876 | $18,288 | +$2,412 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,706 | −$23 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,025 | −$440 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $2,100 | +$216 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,300 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $9,039 | $9,711 | +$673 |
| Total | $37,393 | $39,130 | +$1,737 |
Side by side
| Metric | Mobile, AL | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.7 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.91% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.05 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $197,857 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $97 | $202 |
| Median rent | $1,323 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $117 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 56.6 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.4 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |