Columbus vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Columbus	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2181	$3691
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5273	$8778
🏠 One person rent	$1256	$2299
🏘️ Family rent	$2214	$4069
🍽️ Food expenses	$662	$919
🚐 Transport expenses	$125	$198
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3957	$8151
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	10 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	72	81
😀 Quality of life	90	100
🏙️ Population	906K	449K

The cost of living in Columbus is 41% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1512th and 23rd ($2181 vs $3691) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1292nd and 3rd in the United States and Switzerland, respectively. Check the United States vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Columbus compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Columbus ranked 64th best city to live in the United States vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 217th and 2nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Columbus vs Zurich infographic

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Prices in Columbus vs Zurich

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

	Columbus	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$19.3	$27.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$68	$90.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12.3	$20.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.21	$9.69
☕ Cappuccino	$4.98	$7.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.74	$5.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1298	$2543
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$973	$1977
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2399	$4563
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1787	$3579
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$157	$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$244	$240
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$60.7	$52.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.42%	2.08%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3028	$24740
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2566	$9963
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.01	$4.35
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$61.3	$109
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.4	$33.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.83	$2.26
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.92	$2.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.13	$3.29
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.38	$3.54
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.13	$8.34
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.8	$24.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.4	$23.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.1	$53.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.06	$4.29
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.14	$2.89
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.2	$3.33
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.57	$5.27
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.03	$2.97
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.6	$2.27
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.36	$1.11
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.25	$3.93
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18.5	$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.88	$2.74
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.33	$11.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.22	$20.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.75	$5.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.04	$4.88
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.23	$3.84
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$40.5	$83.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$11.7	$23.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$86.1	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.9	$55.6
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.1	$138
👟 Brand Sneakers	$86.6	$150
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1105	$2616
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$28983	$22875

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Columbus

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.6 km or 5.3 mi	Upper Arlington	$2105
11 km or 7.1 mi	Grove	$2091
13 km or 8.3 mi	Gahanna	$2020
15 km or 9 mi	Hilliard	$2094
17 km or 11 mi	Reynoldsburg	$2030
18 km or 11 mi	Dublin	$2084
19 km or 12 mi	Westerville	$1836
22 km or 13 mi	Pickerington	$2014
38 km or 24 mi	Delaware	$2028
43 km or 27 mi	Lancaster	$1951
43 km or 27 mi	Marysville	$2019
51 km or 32 mi	Newark	$1932
69 km or 43 mi	Springfield	$1933
70 km or 43 mi	Chillicothe	$1933
70 km or 44 mi	Marion	$1954
84 km or 52 mi	Zanesville	$1928
86 km or 53 mi	Xenia	$1918
89 km or 55 mi	Fairborn	$1842
94 km or 59 mi	Beavercreek	$1918
97 km or 60 mi	Huber Heights	$1934
97 km or 60 mi	Mansfield	$1697
98 km or 61 mi	Riverside	$1947
103 km or 64 mi	Kettering	$1961
103 km or 64 mi	Troy	$1965
104 km or 65 mi	Athens	$1571
104 km or 65 mi	Centerville	$1942
105 km or 65 mi	Dayton	$1917
105 km or 65 mi	Sidney	$2025
108 km or 67 mi	Piqua	$1980
112 km or 69 mi	Trotwood	$1957
116 km or 72 mi	Ashland	$1684
120 km or 74 mi	Lebanon	$1850
128 km or 80 mi	Middletown	$1495
128 km or 80 mi	Lima	$2188
130 km or 81 mi	Wooster	$1482
131 km or 81 mi	Mason	$1899
132 km or 82 mi	Findlay	$1922
136 km or 84 mi	Portsmouth	$1493
144 km or 90 mi	New Philadelphia	$1743
146 km or 91 mi	Norwalk	$2061

Cities near Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3392
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3276
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3239
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3282
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3249
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3153
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3207
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3225
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3207
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3180
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3240
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3381
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3836
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3169
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2747
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2699
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1684
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2489
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3197
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2650
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3231
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3175
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1705
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1766
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2924
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1887
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1690
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2694
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1810
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1537
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3565
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1593
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1694
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1698
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2964
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1397
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1447
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1839
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2443
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3041