Cost of living comparison
compared to
Columbus vs. Pittsburgh Cost of Living Summary
Columbus is 4.5% cheaper than Pittsburgh.
Columbus vs. Pittsburgh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Columbus instead of Pittsburgh, you would:
pay 7.0% more for restaurants
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.69
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.12
|
$2.24
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.6% less for groceries
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.82
|
$3.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.29
|
$6.54
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.68
|
$3.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.64
|
$3.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.02
|
$6.36
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.69
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.76
|
$2.56
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.77
|
$2.32
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$1.66
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.71
|
$1.37
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of groceries
pay 21.9% less for transportation
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.54
|
$3.10
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$98.72
|
$62.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,373.32
|
$29,946.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.40
|
$13.04
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of transportation
pay 0.2% less for housing
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$75.38
|
$67.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,583.33
|
$1,570.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,009.09
|
$1,187.46
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$224.61
|
$207.42
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of housing
pay 14.9% less for childcare
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,282.50
|
$1,100.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$34,440.00
|
$29,033.33
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of childcare
pay 2.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$5.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.96
|
$5.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$9.59
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.43
|
$46.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.4% more for clothing
|
Pittsburgh
|
Columbus
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.40
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$55.14
|
$39.10
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$76.54
|
$81.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$89.17
|
$103.57
|
|
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - Cost of clothing
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: April 2026
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