Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater → Columbus
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to Columbus is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.9 to 95.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $547/mo.
- +$2,593
- BLS median salary higher in Columbus
- 210 to 293
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.8:1 to 17.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,286
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Columbus
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + $547/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $3K higher median salary
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 100.9 to 95.5, so each dollar covers more in Columbus (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $547/mo ($6,564/yr) from $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to $1,430 in Columbus.
Columbus leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Columbus sits #304 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is #338/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,593 higher ($68,404 → $70,997). Labor-market size: 1,402,180 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,092,320 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Florida 62 (C, #23/51) vs Ohio 59 (D, #29/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 67
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 12
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 57
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 10
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to see what you'd need to earn in Columbus to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026