Moving to Ohio from California
What to Expect
Considering a move from California to Ohio? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from California to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 31.9% cheaper than California. A $75,000 salary in California would need to be roughly $51,100 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Los Angeles and Columbus are about 1,950 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Ohio? Get a shortlist of towns in Ohio that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Ohio cheaper than California?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 23.2% less
Groceries
pay 22.4% less
Transportation
pay 10.9% less
Housing
pay 49.2% less
Childcare
pay 28.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 27.6% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Ohio?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $51,100
To maintain the same standard of living in Ohio
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Ohio cost about 38% less than cities in California.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Ohio compared to California.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Ohio performs significantly better than California across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
California generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Ohio leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Ohio performs significantly better than California across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
California generally does better on infrastructure, though Ohio leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
California generally does better on employment & economy, though Ohio leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
California performs better than Ohio across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Ohio vs California
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Los Angeles | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 69°/49°F (21°/10°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 75°/57°F (24°/14°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/64°F (29°/18°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/12°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Los Angeles | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68°/48°F (20.1°/8.8°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 69°/49°F (20.3°/9.6°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 70°/51°F (21.2°/10.6°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 73°/53°F (22.6°/11.9°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 74°/57°F (23.6°/13.9°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 83°/64°F (28.4°/17.6°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 84°/64°F (29.1°/17.8°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.3°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 78°/59°F (25.8°/14.8°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 73°/52°F (22.7°/11.1°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 68°/47°F (19.8°/8.6°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than California?
On average Ohio is about 32% less expensive than California, with major cities narrowing the gap.
How much money do I need to move to Ohio?
Budget about $12,775 for 3 months in Ohio (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Ohio safe?
Ohio performs significantly better than California across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to California?
California generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Ohio leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to California?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 75°F in Los Angeles. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Los Angeles gets 14.9 in.
