Columbia, Maryland Cost Of Living

F

29%

Overall NAT. AVG.

3%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

89%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Columbia	Maryland	National
Cost of living	129	119	100
Goods & Services	103	105	100
Groceries	110	110	100
Health care	81	83	100
Housing	189	150	100
Transportation	102	107	100
Utilities	106	105	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Columbia is 9% higher than the Maryland average
The cost of living in Columbia is 29% higher than the national average
Columbia housing is 89% higher than the national average
Maryland general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Maryland state income tax is 11% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$125,047	$10,421	$2,918	$3,752
Renters	$69,921	$5,827	$1,631	$2,098

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Columbia, MD, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Columbia homeowners, is $125,047. This would allow for a maximum of $2,918 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $69,921 which would result in a maximum of $1,631 to be spent on rental costs.

Maryland Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Maryland	6%	6%

Maryland Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Maryland	2%	5.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Columbia	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.75	$20.27	17.2%
Beauty Salon	$55.39	$40.39	37.1%
Toothpaste	$2.74	$2.36	16.1%
Shampoo	$1.11	$1.08	2.8%
Movie	$13.91	$10.99	26.6%
Bowling	$16.17	$15.49	4.4%

Groceries

Item	Columbia	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.03	$4.30	6.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.53	$1.40	9.3%
Milk	$2.57	$2.20	16.7%
Potatoes	$3.63	$3.22	12.8%
Pizza	$11.32	$10.74	5.4%
Beer	$9.49	$9.60	1.1%

Health Care

Item	Columbia	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$82.95	$109.73	24.4%
Doctor	$82.95	$118.34	29.9%
Dentist	$84.98	$100.94	15.8%
Ibuprofen	$10.13	$9.93	2.0%
Lipitor	$370.40	$469.53	21.1%

Housing

Item	Columbia	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$364,900.00	$184,700.00	97.6%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,299.62	$1,229.62	5.7%
Apartment Rent	$1,604.00	$949.00	69.0%

Transportation

Item	Columbia	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.70	$2.71	0.4%
Tire Balancing	$54.77	$51.86	5.6%

Utilities

Item	Columbia	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$181.84	$170.84	6.4%
Phone	$195.41	$187.18	4.4%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Baltimore, MD	621,000	99	1.3%
Lansdowne, MD	8,365	100	0.1%
Lochearn, MD	25,878	104	4.3%
Brooklyn Park, MD	14,159	106	5.8%
Milford Mill, MD	30,650	106	6.4%
Columbia, MD	103,439	129	28.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Santa Maria, CA	103,642	120	20.5%
Spring Hill, FL	102,929	90	10.3%
El Cajon, CA	102,894	133	33.3%
Lakeland, FL	102,714	89	11.3%
Rialto, CA	102,418	114	14.2%
Columbia, MD	103,439	129	28.8%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.