Cost Of Living in Columbus, WI

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A-

1%

Overall NAT. AVG.

6%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

11%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; 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	Wisconsin	National
Cost of living	101	96	100
Goods & Services	106	97	100
Groceries	102	99	100
Health care	120	112	100
Housing	89	88	100
Transportation	101	98	100
Utilities	109	102	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Columbus is 5% higher than the Wisconsin average
The cost of living in Columbus is 1% higher than the national average
Columbus housing is 11% lower than the national average
Wisconsin general sales tax is 2% lower than the national average
Wisconsin state income tax is 36% 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	$75,455	$6,288	$1,760	$2,264
Renters	$41,789	$3,482	$975	$1,254

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Columbus is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Columbus has a median income of about $75,455 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,760 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $41,789. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $975 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Wisconsin Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Wisconsin	5%	6.75%

Wisconsin Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Wisconsin	3.54%	7.65%

Goods & Services

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.26	$24.26	0.0%
Beauty Salon	$66.46	$45.56	45.9%
Toothpaste	$3.76	$3.70	1.7%
Shampoo	$1.22	$1.28	4.8%
Movie	$12.47	$12.13	2.8%
Bowling	$27.76	$18.00	54.2%

Groceries

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.27	$5.84	7.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.45	$1.57	8.1%
Milk	$4.79	$4.67	2.5%
Potatoes	$4.20	$4.93	15.0%
Pizza	$10.96	$12.09	9.3%
Beer	$8.82	$10.41	15.3%

Health Care

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$70.37	$125.68	44.0%
Doctor	$222.85	$135.78	64.1%
Dentist	$122.45	$113.29	8.1%
Ibuprofen	$10.72	$10.65	0.6%
Lipitor	$506.88	$468.60	8.2%

Housing

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$169,700.00	$184,700.00	8.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,571.07	$2,346.69	9.6%
Apartment Rent	$788.00	$949.00	17.0%

Transportation

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.39	$3.46	2.0%
Tire Balancing	$65.66	$59.92	9.6%

Utilities

Item	Columbus	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$226.90	$193.99	17.0%
Phone	$185.25	$192.25	3.6%

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.
Randolph, WI	1,632	88	12.1%
Lowell, WI	234	93	7.4%
Cambria, WI	695	93	7.1%
Reeseville, WI	719	95	5.1%
Rio, WI	1,049	96	4.2%
Columbus, WI	5,076	101	0.9%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Timber Pines, FL	5,076	96	4.2%
North Fond du Lac, WI	5,076	91	8.8%
Vinton, IA	5,075	92	8.4%
Hidden Valley, IN	5,075	103	3.0%
Paxtonia, PA	5,075	106	5.7%
Columbus, WI	5,076	101	0.9%