$100k salary, packing up from Provo

change
Columbus, OH cityscape

if you left provo

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

$287

under Provo, every month

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

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,511/mo

13% cheaper than Provo(vs $1,743/mo)

02state income tax

3.99%

$55/mo less in state tax than Provo

vs 4.65% in Provo

03after rent

$6,490/mo

$287 more than Provo

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

04a house here

$350k

37% cheaper than Provo

vs $559k in Provo

05metro size

2.2M

vs 733k in Provo

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

171

pleasant days a year, in columbus.

Provo only manages 171 of those.

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

57/100

30% lower than Provo

vs 81/100 in Provo

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

·walk score®

85/100

4% lower than Provo

vs 89/100 in Provo

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

32

65% fewer than Provo

vs 91 nonstops in Provo

04 · see also

neighbors of columbus on the map of tradeoffs:

compare columbus with: