Your monthly budget in Columbus.

Columbus had 931,551 residents in 2024, a median household income of $67,084 and a median gross rent of $1,383 a month, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey. It is Ohio’s capital and largest city, and its job market rests on institutions: The Ohio State University, which says it is the largest employer in central Ohio, state government, Nationwide, a large JPMorgan Chase operation and a regional network of hospitals. Living costs are moderate by big-city standards, which is why the region keeps growing.

The cost that surprises newcomers is not rent. It is the paycheck itself. Columbus charges a 2.5% city income tax, collected on gross wages before retirement contributions. Ohio switched to a flat state income tax of 2.75% in 2026 under House Bill 96. And since April 1, 2025, the Franklin County sales tax has been 8%, after voters approved COTA’s half-cent LinkUS levy in 2024, as ABC6 reported.

This page is for the Ohio State staff member, the graduate student living on a stipend near campus, the state analyst downtown and the household in Clintonville or Hilliard that splits a university paycheck and a private one. By the end you will know exactly how the three tax layers affect your deposit, how to stretch a nine-month stipend, and what real free money is left.

Three layers on one stub

A Columbus paycheck shows federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, then Ohio, then the city. The Ohio line is now simple: no tax on the first $26,050 of nonbusiness income and 2.75% above it. The city line works differently. It is 2.5% of gross wages, and pre-tax retirement deferrals generally do not reduce it. A staff member who puts $500 a month into a 403(b) still pays the city tax on that $500.

Ohio State employees in the state pension system see a contribution to OPERS or STRS instead of Social Security on many stubs. Whatever the mix, the planning rule is the same: read the net deposit and plan on that.

The 8% receipt

Since April 2025, most purchases in Franklin County carry an 8% sales tax, up from 7.5%, tying it with Cuyahoga County for the highest in Ohio, according to ABC6. The extra half-cent funds COTA’s plan for bus rapid transit and more service. On a $1,000 purchase the difference is $5, small on its own and worth knowing when you plan a laptop, furniture or tires.

Living on an academic calendar

A lot of Columbus income follows the university year. Some graduate stipends are paid over nine months. Adjuncts are paid per course. Dining and facilities workers may see hours drop between semesters, and the campus area’s rents follow the August lease cycle. If your income has a summer gap, the budget has to see the whole year, not one month at a time.

Fixed costs in a Columbus month

• Rent or mortgage, plus renters or homeowners insurance.
• AEP Ohio electricity and Columbia Gas, with a winter heating peak.
• Water and sewer from the city.
• Car payment, insurance and gas, or a COTA pass.
• Phone and internet.
• Student loans, especially for graduates who stayed after Ohio State.
• Childcare, and card payments.

Example one: a grad student with a nine-month stipend

The figures in both examples are illustrative. Mei is a doctoral student in a lab near campus. Her stipend pays about $2,600 a month after taxes from September through May, nine payments totaling $23,400. She expects $1,500 from summer research pay.

Annual income: $24,900. Planned monthly income: $2,075.

Fixed costs: her share of a two-bedroom in the University District $780, renters insurance $14, AEP and gas share $75, internet and phone $70, COTA pass covered by her student fees $0, health insurance premium after the university subsidy $40, student loan in deferment $0, groceries set as a fixed amount $320. Total: $1,299. Weekend reserve: $120.

$2,075 minus $1,299 minus $120 leaves $656 of real free money every month of the year.

In stipend months she receives $2,600 and moves $525 to a Summer goal. By June it holds $4,725. Her three summer months need $6,225 at the planned level; the goal plus her $1,500 research pay covers exactly that.

Spread your stipend across twelve months in Monthly, and see what summer needs before May arrives →

Example two: a state analyst and a university nurse in Hilliard

Greg is a budget analyst at a state agency downtown and takes home $4,300 a month. Renee is a nurse at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and takes home $5,200. Both pay the 2.5% Columbus tax because both work in the city.

Combined income: $9,500.

Fixed costs: mortgage with taxes and insurance $2,350, AEP and Columbia Gas averaged $250, water and sewer $95, two cars with insurance $780, gas $220, Renee’s parking $85, phone and internet $160, daycare $1,250, student loans $360. Total: $5,550. Weekend reserve: $400.

$9,500 minus $5,550 minus $400 leaves $3,550.

When Ohio’s flat tax took effect in January, each of their paychecks rose by a small amount. Instead of letting it disappear into groceries, they updated both income lines the day the new stubs arrived and sent the difference, about $60 a month, to a goal for the furnace that their inspector said had five years left.

How Monthly handles it

Monthly is a free, manual budgeting app for the web and Android. It does not connect to your bank, does not move money and does not give financial or tax advice. You enter your net pay, stipends, fixed costs, installments and debts, and it shows what is free. Savings goals, from a summer stipend gap to a new furnace, live under Patrimonio with a target, a date and logged contributions. For students, the guide to budgeting apps for students compares options, and the monthly budget categories checklist helps make sure no fixed cost is missing.

Real free money and your next step

In Columbus, moderate rent can make the budget look easy until three tax layers and an academic calendar are counted. Real free money is what is left after fixed costs and a weekend reserve come out of your actual net deposit, spread across the full year if your income stops in summer. With that figure in hand, a city tax line or a nine-month stipend is just part of the plan.

Set up your year in Monthly with your real net pay, and see what is free in July as well as in October →