on $100k a year, leaving Santa Maria

change
Columbus, OH cityscape

if you left santa maria

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

$2,284

below Santa Maria's monthly cost

Move to Columbus and the monthly math gets easier. Santa Maria's rent is the headline; Columbus's is a footnote.
landable, recorded on the columbus entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,511/mo

55% cheaper than Santa Maria(vs $3,352/mo)

02state income tax

3.99%

$442/mo less in state tax than Santa Maria

vs 9.3% in Santa Maria

03after rent

$6,490/mo

$2,284 more than Santa Maria

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

04a house here

$350k

67% cheaper than Santa Maria

vs $1059k in Santa Maria

05metro size

2.2M

vs 441k in Santa Maria

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

171

pleasant days a year, in columbus.

Santa Maria edges ahead with 337 pleasant days. Winter has bite, though: 29 days drop below 20° vs Santa Maria's 0.

·outdoorscore

57/100

3% lower than Santa Maria

vs 59/100 in Santa Maria

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

·walk score®

85/100

2% lower than Santa Maria

vs 87/100 in Santa Maria

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

32

1500% more than Santa Maria

vs 2 nonstops in Santa Maria

04 · see also

cities that play in columbus's register:

compare columbus with: