| Index | Southwest | Columbus | Ohio | 
| Cost of living | 85 | 94 | 92 | 
| Goods & Services | 94 | 94 | 100 | 
| Groceries | 104 | 104 | 101 | 
| Health care | 85 | 85 | 98 | 
| Housing | 64 | 92 | 73 | 
| Transportation | 90 | 90 | 100 | 
| Utilities | 95 | 95 | 99 | 

 
				
Why stop at city-to-city? With Local Insights, you can compare neighborhoods, zip codes, or even exact addresses. Access 300+ hyperlocal data points—from schools and crime to housing and amenities—to see which area is the better fit.
 
				| Cost of living index | |
| Goods & Services index | |
| Groceries index | |
| Health care index | |
| Housing index | |
| Transportation index | |
| Utilities index | 
| Median Income | Per Year | Per Month | Max Budget (28% DTI) | Max Budget (36% DTI) | 
| Household | $55,392 | $4,616 | $1,292 | $1,662 | 
| State | General Sales Tax | With Max Surtax | 
| Ohio | 5.75% | 8% | 
| State | Income Tax (Low) | Income Tax (High) | 
| Ohio | 2.76% | 3.99% | 
| Item | Columbus | National avg. | Difference | 
| Haircut | $21.46 | $24.26 | 11.5% | 
| Beauty Salon | $42.47 | $45.56 | 6.8% | 
| Toothpaste | $3.69 | $3.70 | 0.4% | 
| Shampoo | $1.32 | $1.28 | 2.8% | 
| Movie | $12.00 | $12.13 | 1.1% | 
| Bowling | $19.07 | $18.00 | 5.9% | 
| Item | Columbus | National avg. | Difference | 
| Ground Beef | $5.63 | $5.84 | 3.6% | 
| Fried Chicken | $1.61 | $1.57 | 2.6% | 
| Milk | $4.76 | $4.67 | 1.8% | 
| Potatoes | $5.24 | $4.93 | 6.2% | 
| Pizza | $11.49 | $12.09 | 4.9% | 
| Beer | $10.68 | $10.41 | 2.6% | 
| Item | Columbus | National avg. | Difference | 
| Optometrist | $65.99 | $125.68 | 47.5% | 
| Doctor | $117.73 | $135.78 | 13.3% | 
| Dentist | $89.30 | $113.29 | 21.2% | 
| Ibuprofen | $10.68 | $10.65 | 0.3% | 
| Lipitor | $475.58 | $468.60 | 1.5% | 
| Item | Columbus | National avg. | Difference | 
| Home Price | $160,000.00 | $184,700.00 | 13.4% | 
| Avg. Mortgage Payment | $1,862.49 | $2,346.69 | 20.6% | 
| Apartment Rent | $989.00 | $949.00 | 4.2% | 
| Item | Columbus | National avg. | Difference | 
| Gasoline | $3.42 | $3.46 | 1.2% | 
| Tire Balancing | $41.79 | $59.92 | 30.3% | 
| Item | Columbus | National avg. | Difference | 
| All Electricity | $182.76 | $193.99 | 5.8% | 
| Phone | $186.03 | $192.25 | 3.2% | 
| City | Population | Cost of Living Index | National Avg. | 
| Orient, OH | 130 | 95 | 5.3% | 
| Lockbourne, OH | 160 | 83 | 17.1% | 
| Derby, OH | 543 | 84 | 15.7% | 
| Urbancrest, OH | 1,154 | 85 | 15.4% | 
| Whitehall, OH | 18,944 | 86 | 14.5% | 
| Columbus, OH | 889,079 | 94 | 6.2% | 
| City | Population | Cost of Living Index | National Avg. | 
| Fort Worth, TX | 892,221 | 105 | 5.2% | 
| Jacksonville, FL | 902,488 | 98 | 2.0% | 
| San Francisco, CA | 874,784 | 237 | 137.3% | 
| Charlotte, NC | 873,570 | 108 | 7.6% | 
| Indianapolis, IN | 869,387 | 93 | 6.7% | 
| Columbus, OH | 889,079 | 94 | 6.2% |