Columbus composite
47.4 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Columbus vs Terre Haute
Columbus, IN and Terre Haute, IN side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 47.4
- Columbus Life Score
- C+
- Columbus grade
- 63.5
- Terre Haute Life Score
- A
- Terre Haute grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Columbus scores higher on 2 (wages, safety) and Terre Haute on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Columbus vs Terre Haute across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Columbus Terre Haute ◗
cost of living
54
88
wages
55
25
rent
36
83
safety
52
50
schools
55
58
childcare
0
0
environment
20
89
Columbus and Terre Haute differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Columbus has a cost-of-living index of 93.0 vs Terre Haute's 87.8 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $64,275 in Columbus and $57,354 in Terre Haute. A 2-bedroom averages $1,415/mo vs $1,094/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Columbus vs Terre Haute Comparison
Columbus (IN) and Terre Haute (IN) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 93.0 for Columbus against 87.8 for Terre Haute, a 5.2-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,415/mo in Columbus and $1,094/mo in Terre Haute, a $321/mo difference that compounds to $3,852 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $64,275 across 41,930 jobs in Columbus against $57,354 across 57,960 jobs in Terre Haute. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Columbus carries the same local purchasing power as $94,402 in Terre Haute - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 308.5 per 100,000 residents in IN vs 308.5 in IN, with property-crime rates of 1321.0 and 1321.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: IN lists 1,865 public schools at a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio, while IN lists 1,865 schools at 15.9:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Columbus and Terre Haute are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Terre Haute composite
63.5 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
5.2 pts
Columbus vs Terre Haute BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$321 /mo
Columbus priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Columbus
Columbus composite (Grade C+)
Terre Haute
Terre Haute composite (Grade A)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Columbus | Terre Haute |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 93.0 | 87.8 |
| Goods | 94.3 | 94.3 |
| Services | 86.6 | 86.6 |
| Rents | 75.5 | 51.9 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Terre Haute gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Columbus?
$
Equivalent in Terre Haute:
$94,402
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Columbus: 93.0, Terre Haute: 87.8, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Columbus | Terre Haute |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,233/mo | $859/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,257/mo | $864/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,415/mo | $1,094/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,697/mo | $1,312/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,000/mo | $1,535/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Columbus | Terre Haute |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $64,275 | $57,354 |
| Total Employment | 41,930 | 57,960 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Columbus (IN) | Terre Haute (IN) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 308.5 | 308.5 |
| Property Crime | 1321.0 | 1321.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,865 | 1,865 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.5% | 6.5% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,028 | 1,028 |
| Water Systems | 718 | 718 |
| Superfund Sites | 53 | 53 |
| Water Violations | 1,467 | 1,467 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Columbus | Terre Haute |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 44.0 | 47.0 |
| Good Air Days | 71.6% | 55.7% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 5/100 | 5/100 |
| Total Violations | 352,710 | 352,710 |
| Health-Based Violations | 35,932 | 35,932 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.8% | 95.8% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 362 | 362 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | IN | IN |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 69/100 | 69/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 45.5 | 45.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 49.3 | 49.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Columbus more expensive than Terre Haute? ▼
Columbus has a cost of living index of 93.0 compared to Terre Haute's 87.8 (national average = 100). Columbus is 5.2 points above Terre Haute on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Columbus and Terre Haute? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,415/mo in Columbus vs $1,094/mo in Terre Haute, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,233/mo to $859/mo.
How do salaries compare between Columbus and Terre Haute? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $64,275 in Columbus and $57,354 in Terre Haute, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Columbus has the same purchasing power as $94,402 in Terre Haute.
Is Columbus or Terre Haute safer? ▼
At the state level, IN has a violent crime rate of 308.5 per 100,000 residents compared to IN's 308.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1321.0 vs 1321.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Columbus and Terre Haute? ▼
IN has 1,865 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.9:1, while IN has 1,865 schools at 15.9:1. Charter schools make up 6.5% of IN schools vs 6.5% in IN. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial