Brussels vs Columbus - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Brussels	Columbus
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2065	$2127
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4988	$5086
🏠 One person rent	$1165	$1221
🏘️ Family rent	$2046	$2077
🍽️ Food expenses	$658	$642
🚐 Transport expenses	$92.4	$125
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3697	$3894
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	10 km
🎓 Higher education	96	73
😀 Quality of life	92	92
🏙️ Population	196K	906K

The cost of living in Brussels is 3% less expensive than in Columbus. Cities ranked 1872nd and 1686th ($2065 vs $2127) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1354th in Belgium and the United States, respectively. Check Belgium vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Brussels compared to 1.8 months in Columbus. Brussels ranked 1st best city to live in Belgium vs Columbus ranked 17th in the United States, while ranked 99th and 96th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/brussels/columbus.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Brussels vs Columbus infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/brussels/columbus" target="_blank">Brussels vs Columbus - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Brussels vs Columbus

Prices for goods and services in Brussels and Columbus are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Brussels	Columbus
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$24.7	$18.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$80.5	$66.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.7	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.48	$6.36
☕ Cappuccino	$4.55	$4.76
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.46	$2.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1092	$1328
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$909	$934
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1988	$2183
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1675	$1691
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$160	$147
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$250	$226
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$58.9	$61
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	3.39%	6.35%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5177	$3248
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3603	$2159
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.95	$1.99
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$64.8	$60.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$23.7	$15.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.98	$0.85
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.56	$0.91
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.76	$3.1
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$4.02
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.89	$4.12
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.9	$13.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.9	$12.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$21	$16.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3	$5.64
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.61	$1.83
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.69	$6.03
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.82	$4.81
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.54	$2.62
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.45	$3.43
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.76	$1.54
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.64	$3.75
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$9.72	$18.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.5	$2.81
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.6	$9.61
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$10.4	$9.22
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.15	$3.76
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.52	$4.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.37	$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$40.9	$38.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$15.7	$12.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$38.2	$85.7
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.9	$20.1
👖 Brand Jeans	$104	$54.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$91.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1225	$1272
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$19894	$24638

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Brussels

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi	Schaerbeek	$1920
3.3 km or 2.1 mi	Saint-Gilles	$1932
4 km or 2.5 mi	Anderlecht	$1939
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Forest	$1993
4.5 km or 2.8 mi	Woluwe-Saint-Lambert	$1853
6.2 km or 3.8 mi	Watermael-Boitsfort	$1906
7.3 km or 4.6 mi	Dilbeek	$1900
10 km or 6.3 mi	Sint-Pieters-Leeuw	$1917
10 km or 6.4 mi	Vilvoorde	$1866
11 km or 6.8 mi	Tervuren	$1894
15 km or 9 mi	Overijse	$1860
15 km or 9.1 mi	Waterloo	$2050
15 km or 9.1 mi	Halle	$1886
17 km or 11 mi	Zemst	$1854
19 km or 12 mi	Braine-l'Alleud	$1910
19 km or 12 mi	Rixensart	$1838
21 km or 13 mi	Mechelen	$1877
21 km or 13 mi	Tubize	$1851
23 km or 14 mi	Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve	$1834
23 km or 14 mi	Wavre	$1785
23 km or 15 mi	Herent	$1864
24 km or 15 mi	Ninove	$1809
24 km or 15 mi	Aalst	$1890
25 km or 15 mi	Leuven	$1920
26 km or 16 mi	Dendermonde	$1706
28 km or 17 mi	Nivelles	$1702
31 km or 20 mi	Braine-le-Comte	$1796
35 km or 22 mi	Lier	$1772
35 km or 22 mi	Geraardsbergen	$1692
36 km or 23 mi	Heist-op-den-Berg	$1815
37 km or 23 mi	Mortsel	$1734
37 km or 23 mi	Aarschot	$1830
37 km or 23 mi	Soignies	$1763
38 km or 23 mi	Zottegem	$1766
38 km or 24 mi	Lokeren	$1734
38 km or 24 mi	Sint-Niklaas	$1727
40 km or 25 mi	Gembloux	$1887
40 km or 25 mi	Beveren	$1849
41 km or 26 mi	Tienen	$1742
41 km or 26 mi	Antwerp	$1857

Cities near Columbus

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.6 km or 5.3 mi	Upper Arlington	$2080
11 km or 7.1 mi	Grove	$2048
13 km or 8.3 mi	Gahanna	$1994
15 km or 9 mi	Hilliard	$2093
17 km or 11 mi	Reynoldsburg	$1992
18 km or 11 mi	Dublin	$2123
19 km or 12 mi	Westerville	$1816
22 km or 13 mi	Pickerington	$1982
38 km or 24 mi	Delaware	$2029
43 km or 27 mi	Lancaster	$1911
43 km or 27 mi	Marysville	$1975
51 km or 32 mi	Newark	$1872
69 km or 43 mi	Springfield	$1813
70 km or 43 mi	Chillicothe	$1919
70 km or 44 mi	Marion	$1922
84 km or 52 mi	Zanesville	$1746
86 km or 53 mi	Xenia	$1831
89 km or 55 mi	Fairborn	$1756
94 km or 59 mi	Beavercreek	$1822
97 km or 60 mi	Huber Heights	$1831
97 km or 60 mi	Mansfield	$1594
98 km or 61 mi	Riverside	$1877
103 km or 64 mi	Kettering	$1931
103 km or 64 mi	Troy	$1849
104 km or 65 mi	Athens	$1582
104 km or 65 mi	Centerville	$1915
105 km or 65 mi	Dayton	$1901
105 km or 65 mi	Sidney	$1863
108 km or 67 mi	Piqua	$1833
112 km or 69 mi	Trotwood	$1933
116 km or 72 mi	Ashland	$1580
120 km or 74 mi	Lebanon	$1864
128 km or 80 mi	Middletown	$1554
128 km or 80 mi	Lima	$2110
130 km or 81 mi	Wooster	$1530
131 km or 81 mi	Mason	$1904
132 km or 82 mi	Findlay	$1859
136 km or 84 mi	Portsmouth	$1468
144 km or 90 mi	New Philadelphia	$1791
146 km or 91 mi	Norwalk	$1935