Moving to Ohio from New Jersey
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from New Jersey to Ohio — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from New Jersey to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 29.0% cheaper than New Jersey. A $75,000 salary in New Jersey would need to be roughly $53,300 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Columbus averages 76°F vs 67°F in Newark, making it significantly warmer. Newark and Columbus are about 470 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 New Jersey?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 13.8% less
Groceries
pay 23.2% less
Transportation
pay 10.3% less
Housing
pay 44.7% less
Childcare
pay 25.5% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 27.0% 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 → $53,300
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 28% less than cities in New Jersey.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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 New Jersey across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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
New Jersey 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 New Jersey
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Newark | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 48°/27°F (9°/-2°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 76°/51°F (24°/11°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/63°F (29°/17°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 58°/36°F (14°/2°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Newark | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42°/24°F (5.6°/-4.4°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 46°/26°F (7.7°/-3.2°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 55°/32°F (12.7°/0.2°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 67°/42°F (19.4°/5.3°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.7°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 85°/61°F (29.5°/16.3°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 88°/66°F (31.2°/18.8°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.1°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 80°/57°F (26.5°/14.0°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 69°/45°F (20.4°/7.3°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 58°/36°F (14.2°/2.4°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 46°/28°F (7.8°/-2.2°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than New Jersey?
Generally yes: Ohio runs about 29% cheaper than New Jersey 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 $13,325 in Ohio for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Ohio safe?
New Jersey performs better than Ohio across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to New Jersey?
New Jersey generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Ohio leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to New Jersey?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 67°F in Newark. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Newark gets 46.2 in.
