on $100k a year, leaving Ann Arbor

change
Columbus, OH cityscape

if you left ann arbor

Columbus

oh · metro 2.2M

a dispatch from

columbus

OH

39.96°N

83.00°W

Columbus is Ohio State on autumn Saturdays (the Horseshoe holds 100,000+ and they all wear scarlet), German Village's cobblestone streets and brick cottages, and a Short North gallery scene that punches well above its weight. It's quietly become a test market for the rest of America because the demographics line up so neatly. The food scene leans young, weird, and good. 'Buckeyes' here can mean either the football team or the chocolate-peanut-butter candy.

metro2.2M

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$593

lighter monthly cost than Ann Arbor

Columbus gives you room Ann Arbor doesn't. Same gross salary, lower monthly cost of living.
landable, recorded on the columbus entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,511/mo

27% cheaper than Ann Arbor(vs $2,082/mo)

02state income tax

3.99%

$22/mo less in state tax than Ann Arbor

vs 4.25% in Ann Arbor

03after rent

$6,490/mo

$593 more than Ann Arbor

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$350k

18% cheaper than Ann Arbor

vs $429k in Ann Arbor

05metro size

2.2M

vs 366k in Ann Arbor

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

171

pleasant days a year, in columbus.

Ann Arbor barely cracks 154 pleasant ones.

A real upgrade on things to do: 8.3× Ann Arbor's pace.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

57/100

2% higher than Ann Arbor

vs 56/100 in Ann Arbor

Closest outdoor draw: Alum Creek State Park, 16.2 mi.

·walk score®

85/100

12% lower than Ann Arbor

vs 97/100 in Ann Arbor

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

32

76% fewer than Ann Arbor

vs 135 nonstops in Ann Arbor

04 · see also

neighbors of columbus on the map of tradeoffs:

compare columbus with: