Moving to Ohio from Idaho
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Idaho to Ohio — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Idaho to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 3.9% cheaper than Idaho. A $75,000 salary in Idaho would need to be roughly $72,100 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Columbus averages 76°F vs 59°F in Idaho Falls, making it significantly warmer. Idaho Falls and Columbus are about 1,500 mi apart.
Is Ohio cheaper than Idaho?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 0.3% more
Groceries
pay 2.5% more
Transportation
pay 16.7% more
Housing
pay 16.6% less
Childcare
pay 7.7% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.3% 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 → $72,100
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 9% less than cities in Idaho.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Idaho and Ohio stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Idaho performs better than Ohio 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
Idaho 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 generally does better on what about housing?, though Idaho leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Idaho performs better than Ohio across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Idaho generally does better on employment & economy, though Ohio leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Idaho generally does better on family life, though Ohio leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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 Idaho
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Idaho Falls | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 39°/19°F (4°/-7°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 69°/40°F (20°/5°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/49°F (29°/9°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 45°/24°F (7°/-5°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Idaho Falls | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31°/14°F (-0.7°/-10.2°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 36°/17°F (2.3°/-8.4°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 49°/26°F (9.3°/-3.2°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 59°/33°F (15.2°/0.3°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 69°/40°F (20.3°/4.7°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 78°/47°F (25.6°/8.6°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 87°/53°F (30.7°/11.7°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 87°/51°F (30.6°/10.7°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 76°/42°F (24.3°/5.8°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 61°/33°F (16.3°/0.4°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 44°/24°F (6.4°/-4.7°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 31°/15°F (-0.5°/-9.7°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than Idaho?
Generally yes: Ohio runs about 4% cheaper than Idaho on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Ohio?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $18,025 in Ohio for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Ohio safe?
Idaho performs better than Ohio across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to Idaho?
Idaho generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Ohio leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to Idaho?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 59°F in Idaho Falls. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Idaho Falls gets 14.3 in.
