Columbus vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Columbus	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2145	$3296
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5059	$8076
🏠 One person rent	$1248	$1966
🏘️ Family rent	$2171	$3466
🍽️ Food expenses	$632	$863
🚐 Transport expenses	$125	$211
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4018	$7242
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	10 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	73	81
😀 Quality of life	88	98
🏙️ Population	906K	449K

The cost of living in Columbus is 35% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1476th and 59th ($2145 vs $3296) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1323rd and 2nd 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 1.9 months in Columbus compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Columbus ranked 59th best city to live in the United States vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 249th and 5th 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	$18.9	$26
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$66.4	$111
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.7	$17.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.69	$8.89
☕ Cappuccino	$4.78	$6.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.44	$5.47
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1314	$2155
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$972	$1671
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2378	$4080
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1757	$2967
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$149	$148
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$232	$226
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$57.9	$50.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.57%	2.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3095	$24070
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2954	$5867
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.01	$4.88
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$60.8	$94.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.4	$41.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.86	$2.08
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.92	$1.99
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.74	$2.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.43	$3.45
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.4	$7.49
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.3	$22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.8	$22.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.4	$45.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.29	$3.52
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.32	$2.34
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.69	$2.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.95	$5.08
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.12	$2.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.04	$2.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.47	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.28	$3.38
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$18.6	$14.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.66	$2.32
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.45	$10
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.35	$21.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.76	$5.47
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.07	$3.9
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.2	$4.01
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$42.3	$72.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$11.7	$21.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$85.5	$138
💇 Haircut, simple	$19.9	$54.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$61	$120
👟 Brand Sneakers	$89.4	$124
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1236	$2498
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15423	$29610

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Columbus

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.6 km or 5.3 mi	Upper Arlington	$2084
11 km or 7.1 mi	Grove	$2062
13 km or 8.3 mi	Gahanna	$1986
15 km or 9 mi	Hilliard	$2085
17 km or 11 mi	Reynoldsburg	$1994
18 km or 11 mi	Dublin	$2095
19 km or 12 mi	Westerville	$1798
22 km or 13 mi	Pickerington	$1983
38 km or 24 mi	Delaware	$1851
43 km or 27 mi	Lancaster	$1903
43 km or 27 mi	Marysville	$1968
51 km or 32 mi	Newark	$1881
69 km or 43 mi	Springfield	$1897
70 km or 43 mi	Chillicothe	$1764
70 km or 44 mi	Marion	$1871
84 km or 52 mi	Zanesville	$1825
86 km or 53 mi	Xenia	$1870
89 km or 55 mi	Fairborn	$1798
94 km or 59 mi	Beavercreek	$1862
97 km or 60 mi	Huber Heights	$1852
97 km or 60 mi	Mansfield	$1832
98 km or 61 mi	Riverside	$1865
103 km or 64 mi	Kettering	$1890
103 km or 64 mi	Troy	$1897
104 km or 65 mi	Athens	$1674
104 km or 65 mi	Centerville	$1902
105 km or 65 mi	Dayton	$1783
105 km or 65 mi	Sidney	$1973
108 km or 67 mi	Piqua	$1914
112 km or 69 mi	Trotwood	$1870
116 km or 72 mi	Ashland	$1681
120 km or 74 mi	Lebanon	$1834
128 km or 80 mi	Middletown	$1427
128 km or 80 mi	Lima	$1923
130 km or 81 mi	Wooster	$1481
131 km or 81 mi	Mason	$1853
132 km or 82 mi	Findlay	$1839
136 km or 84 mi	Portsmouth	$1428
144 km or 90 mi	New Philadelphia	$1683
146 km or 91 mi	Norwalk	$1858

Cities near Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3037
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$2988
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$2934
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$2976
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$2974
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$2873
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$2970
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$2960
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3032
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$2893
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3059
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3099
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$3426
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$2861
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2379
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2419
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1472
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2252
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$2897
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2262
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$2931
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$2891
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1555
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1609
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2614
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1731
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1447
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2464
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1641
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1382
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3234
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1453
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1434
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1442
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$2643
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1267
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1286
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1656
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2352
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$2717