Tampa, FL vs Columbus, GA
Moving from Tampa to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
Tampa 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $86,697 in Columbus, GA (−$13,303).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($195 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $15,336 | −$8,880 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $4,816 | −$133 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,515 | −$1,285 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,656 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,100 | −$2,100 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $9,327 | +$4,685 |
| Total | $44,463 | $36,750 | −$7,713 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $102 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $1,278 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 0.80% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 66% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |