San Diego, CA vs Columbus, GA
Moving from San Diego to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($946,365 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
San Diego 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 San Diego, CA, you'd need about $80,224 in Columbus, GA (−$19,776).
Livability — San Diego, CA: 44 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 793 sqft in San Diego vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($631 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Diego, CA | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $35,412 | $15,336 | −$20,076 |
| Groceries | $5,112 | $4,816 | −$297 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,515 | −$1,610 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,656 | −$2,148 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,100 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $21,601 | $9,327 | −$12,274 |
| Total | $72,554 | $36,750 | −$35,805 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Diego, CA | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.7 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.34% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 71 | 49 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.30 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $946,365 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 9.8× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $631 | $102 |
| Median rent | $2,951 | $1,278 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.15 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 34 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |