Olympia, WA vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Olympia to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($533,918 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Olympia 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 Olympia, WA, you'd need about $88,971 in Columbus, OH (−$11,029).
Livability — Olympia, WA: 52 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,686 sqft in Olympia vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($297 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Olympia, WA | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,492 | $18,288 | −$6,204 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,706 | −$540 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,025 | −$1,050 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,100 | +$552 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $7,085 | $9,711 | +$2,626 |
| Total | $43,946 | $39,130 | −$4,816 |
Side by side
| Metric | Olympia, WA | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.4 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.49% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 9.0% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 26 | 54 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.05 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $533,918 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.0× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $297 | $202 |
| Median rent | $2,041 | $1,524 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 20 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |