on $100k a year, leaving Madison

change
Columbus, OH cityscape

if you left madison

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

$352

below Madison's monthly cost

The gap is real. Columbus costs noticeably less than Madison, every month.
landable, recorded on the columbus entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,511/mo

10% cheaper than Madison(vs $1,673/mo)

02state income tax

3.99%

$190/mo less in state tax than Madison

vs 6.27% in Madison

03after rent

$6,490/mo

$352 more than Madison

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

04a house here

$350k

25% cheaper than Madison

vs $465k in Madison

05metro size

2.2M

vs 694k in Madison

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

171

pleasant days a year, in columbus.

Madison only manages 147 of those.

2.9× the events of Madison, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

57/100

15% lower than Madison

vs 67/100 in Madison

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

·walk score®

85/100

3% lower than Madison

vs 88/100 in Madison

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

32

191% more than Madison

vs 11 nonstops in Madison

04 · see also

cities that play in columbus's register:

compare columbus with: