Moving to Ohio from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Pennsylvania to Ohio — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio, you would find that Ohio is 12.7% cheaper than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $65,500 in Ohio to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Columbus averages 76°F vs 65°F in Philadelphia, making it significantly warmer. Philadelphia and Columbus are about 410 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 Pennsylvania?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 7.6% less
Groceries
pay 9.8% less
Transportation
pay 2.0% more
Housing
pay 19.3% less
Childcare
pay 32.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.7% 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 → $65,500
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 8% less than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Pennsylvania to Ohio.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania performs better than Ohio across all health & wellbeing metrics.
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 Pennsylvania leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Ohio performs significantly better than Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania performs better than Ohio across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 84°/62°F (29°/16°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 90°/71°F (32°/21°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Columbus |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.7°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 62°/40°F (16.7°/4.5°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 69°/46°F (20.8°/7.8°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 77°/53°F (24.8°/11.4°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 84°/62°F (28.9°/16.6°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 90°/70°F (32.2°/20.9°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 92°/73°F (33.4°/22.7°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 91°/72°F (33.0°/22.4°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 86°/67°F (30.2°/19.3°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 77°/56°F (25.2°/13.1°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 68°/46°F (20.2°/7.8°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 59°/39°F (15.2°/3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Ohio than Pennsylvania?
Yes — Ohio is on average about 13% cheaper than Pennsylvania. City-level variation can be significant.
How much money do I need to move to Ohio?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $16,375 in Ohio on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Ohio safe?
Pennsylvania performs better than Ohio across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Ohio compared to Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania performs better than Ohio across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Ohio compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Columbus is 76°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Columbus receives around 46.8 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
