When Enticing Millennials, Cost-of-Living Comparisons Aren’t Always What They Seem
Columbus, Ohio, where civic boosters like to say "the cost of living is more living than cost." American Spirit / Shutterstock.com
Yes, Columbus may be less expensive, but there’s a catch.
In recent months, Metrorail commuters in the nation’s capital have been treated to an advertising campaign in select stations promoting Columbus, Ohio, as a destination for cost-conscious millennials.
In one ad, a toothy Columbus millennial with bright lip stick and a wide-brimmed hat stands confidently paired with the message: “Where the cost of living is more living than cost.” (It’s not entirely clear what the background scene is but there may be some pizza boxes in the bottom-left corner, so perhaps this is a Columbus pizza party.)
“This particular demographic is most likely to visit, move, or start a business within the new future. We want to make sure they’re aware of Columbus,” Brian Ross, the chief executive of Experience Columbus, said last year, according to WCMH-TV.
Experience Columbus deployed similar ads in Chicago.
While it makes sense to point out the lower cost of living in Ohio’s state capital compared a notoriously expensive place like Washington, D.C., there’s a catch that other local civic boosters should take into consideration when attempting similar millennial-luring ad campaigns.
District Measured, a blog published by the District of Columbia’s Office of Revenue Analysis, points out some other economic realities when comparing living costs.
The biggest one? Millennials in the nation’s capital tend to have higher salaries than their counterparts in Columbus.
According to District Measured, which used data from U.S. Census Bureau, the Economic Policy Institute and zumper.com:
Living in Columbus isn’t going to save a typical millennial as much as you might expect. Housing is much cheaper in Columbus but millennials in D.C. tend to make a lot more money. The result is that in both places a typical millennial renting a one-bedroom apartment would have about $30,000 left over for other expenses (before taxes). In Columbus this would go further, but not much – we estimate it’d be like having around $36,000 to spend in D.C. But this difference might be negligible since many D.C. millennials reduce their costs by having roommates and not owning cars.
The equation changes for D.C. millennials making below the median income. They might be able to save more by moving to Columbus if they could get a job there without a drastic pay decrease. Some of the ads seem to target young creatives, some of whom might fall into this group.
Plenty of millennials are betting on career trajectories that will make them enough money to keep D.C. affordable to them. If they want to buy a house or have children, though, costs will go up even more relative to those in Columbus. The median cost of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in D.C. is $788,000. In Columbus it’s $222,000. Child-care for two children in D.C. is 75 percent more expensive than in Columbus. D.C. millennials might not be considering a move to Columbus now, but in several years they might re-think the numbers.
All this isn’t to say that Columbus isn’t a great place for millennials. But as more cities—and their local governments—tout their various credentials to attract millennials, the numbers aren’t always clear cut.