Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fargo vs. Columbus Cost of Living Summary
Fargo is 14.7% cheaper than Columbus.
Fargo vs. Columbus Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fargo instead of Columbus, you would:
pay 11.2% less for restaurants
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$17.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.84
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.52
|
$2.61
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.00
|
|
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.7% more for groceries
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.16
|
$3.46
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.00
|
$7.34
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.35
|
$4.72
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.85
|
$4.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.71
|
$7.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.93
|
$4.75
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
|
$1.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.74
|
$2.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.15
|
$2.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$2.27
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$1.75
|
|
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of groceries
pay 11.9% less for transportation
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.88
|
$3.77
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$62.00
|
$42.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,168.00
|
$35,312.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.16
|
?? | |
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of transportation
pay 37.7% less for housing
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.75
|
$56.45
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,543.62
|
$946.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,102.89
|
$676.20
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$170.46
|
$104.62
|
|
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of housing
pay 22.2% less for childcare
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,593.33
|
$1,240.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$34,300.00
|
?? | |
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of childcare
pay 10.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.39
|
$5.26
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$9.12
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$35.00
|
$57.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.25
|
$13.75
|
|
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.5% more for clothing
|
Columbus
|
Fargo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.77
|
$50.80
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.35
|
$46.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.28
|
$84.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.05
|
$101.67
|
|
Columbus vs. Fargo - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Columbus vs. Fargo
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Fargo or Columbus. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.