Cost of living comparison

compared to

Columbus vs. Dallas Cost of Living Summary

Columbus is 4.9% cheaper than Dallas.

Restaurants
pay 2.2% less in Columbus
Groceries
pay 8.6% more in Columbus
Transportation
pay 18.4% less in Columbus
Housing
pay 3.1% less in Columbus
Childcare
pay 7.3% more in Columbus
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.2% less in Columbus
Clothing
pay 17.1% less in Columbus

The cost of groceries and childcare in Columbus are more expensive than in Dallas. Expenses including transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants are lower in Columbus.

Columbus vs. Dallas Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Columbus instead of Dallas, you would:

pay 2.2% less for restaurants

 
Dallas
Columbus
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$11.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.75
 
$2.70
 

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pay 8.6% more for groceries

 
Dallas
Columbus
Bread
1 loaf
$3.71
 
$3.14
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.58
 
$6.54
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.63
 
$3.30
 

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pay 18.4% less for transportation

 
Dallas
Columbus
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.05
 
$3.10
 
Monthly public transit pass $94.00
 
$62.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,755.39
 
$29,946.00
 

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pay 3.1% less for housing

 
Dallas
Columbus
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$71.96
 
$67.92
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,669.75
 
$1,570.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,536.04
 
$1,187.46
 

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pay 7.3% more for childcare

 
Dallas
Columbus
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,151.88
 
$1,100.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $24,380.00
 
$29,033.33
 

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pay 9.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Dallas
Columbus
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.00
 
$5.75
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.63
 
$5.17
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.00
 
$9.59
 

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pay 17.1% less for clothing

 
Dallas
Columbus
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$55.69
 
$55.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$48.92
 
$39.10
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.63
 
$81.67
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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