Columbus, Mississippi Cost Of Living

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Overall 19%

Goods & Services 9%

Housing 39%

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	Columbus	Mississippi	National
Cost of living	81	82	100
Goods & Services	91	91	100
Groceries	86	92	100
Health care	86	95	100
Housing	61	63	100
Transportation	91	86	100
Utilities	87	91	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Columbus is 2% lower than the Mississippi average
The cost of living in Columbus is 19% lower than the national average
Columbus housing is 39% lower than the national average
Mississippi general sales tax is 37% higher than the national average
Mississippi state income tax is 22% higher 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	$45,893	$3,824	$1,071	$1,377
Renters	$21,618	$1,802	$504	$649

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Columbus, MS, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Columbus, homeowners have a median income of $45,893. Using that number, a maximum of $1,071 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $21,618, which means there is a maximum of $504 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Mississippi Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Mississippi	7%	7.25%

Mississippi Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Mississippi	3%	5%

Goods & Services

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.56	$20.27	3.5%
Beauty Salon	$21.45	$40.39	46.9%
Toothpaste	$1.75	$2.36	25.8%
Shampoo	$0.91	$1.08	15.8%
Movie	$9.75	$10.99	11.3%
Bowling	$13.72	$15.49	11.4%

Groceries

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.13	$4.30	27.2%
Fried Chicken	$0.94	$1.40	33.1%
Milk	$1.49	$2.20	32.2%
Potatoes	$2.50	$3.22	22.3%
Pizza	$11.08	$10.74	3.2%
Beer	$8.98	$9.60	6.4%

Health Care

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$101.78	$109.73	7.2%
Doctor	$68.89	$118.34	41.8%
Dentist	$86.78	$100.94	14.0%
Ibuprofen	$9.32	$9.93	6.2%
Lipitor	$509.24	$469.53	8.5%

Housing

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$102,000.00	$184,700.00	44.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$849.35	$1,229.62	30.9%
Apartment Rent	$709.00	$949.00	25.3%

Transportation

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.32	$2.71	14.5%
Tire Balancing	$52.22	$51.86	0.7%

Utilities

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$132.83	$170.84	22.3%
Phone	$184.64	$187.18	1.4%

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.
Macedonia, AL	155	89	10.9%
Ethelsville, AL	171	73	27.2%
Crawford, MS	499	77	23.3%
Artesia, MS	367	73	26.6%
West Point, MS	11,042	78	21.9%
Columbus, MS	24,833	81	19.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Austin, MN	24,841	84	15.7%
West Odessa, TX	24,821	85	15.2%
Elmwood Park, IL	24,845	110	10.3%
Galt, CA	24,848	116	15.8%
Coronado, CA	24,852	254	153.6%
Columbus, MS	24,833	81	19.3%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.