Seattle, WA vs Columbus, OH
Moving from Seattle to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($750,279 → $333,537 median home) and taxes.
Seattle 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 Seattle, WA, you'd need about $83,943 in Columbus, OH (−$16,057).
Livability — Seattle, WA: 48 · Columbus, OH: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,200 sqft in Seattle vs 2,474 sqft in Columbus ($417 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Seattle, WA | Columbus, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,784 | $18,288 | −$8,496 |
| Groceries | $5,405 | $4,706 | −$699 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,025 | −$1,050 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,100 | +$552 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,300 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $8,826 | $9,711 | +$885 |
| Total | $48,138 | $39,130 | −$9,008 |
Side by side
| Metric | Seattle, WA | Columbus, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.7 | 94.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.59% | 4.20% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.1% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.41 | $5.38 |
| Median home price | $750,279 | $333,537 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.0× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 1.2% |
| Price per square foot | $417 | $202 |
| Median rent | $2,232 | $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 | 0.88% | 1.46% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $167 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 41.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 6.3 | 28.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 47% | 50% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |