Columbus, GA, offers a low cost of living, with affordable housing, great schools and a vibrant, family-friendly community.
In Columbus, GA, opportunity and affordability go hand in hand.
The city is home to several major employers, including Fort Benning and the Muscogee County School District, and offers a significantly lower cost of living compared to other regions of the U.S. Housing costs fall 30% below the national average, utilities are 11% lower and transportation is 8% lower, giving residents the opportunity to enjoy a better quality of life because their dollar stretches further.
A former Army mechanic, Amanda Zarate was stationed at Fort Benning when she moved to Columbus in 2010. After four years of service, she transitioned to a new path, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theater arts from Columbus State University. Now a Ph.D. candidate and the theater arts teacher at Wynnton Arts Academy, Zarate was recently awarded Muscogee County School District’s Teacher of the Year.
How would you describe the Columbus, GA, community?
Columbus is very military-friendly because we have Fort Benning right there, but it’s also a very artsy community – there is something here for everybody. Uptown Columbus has a lot of nice shops along Broadway and by the Chattahoochee River. There’s a very nice atmosphere there. Columbus is great, especially for families.
How affordable is rent in Columbus, GA?
I’ve lived in a studio apartment that was about $600 a month and, a couple of years later, I moved into a two-bedroom apartment that was about $900 a month. Now, I live in a two-bedroom apartment with more amenities like a washer-dryer, a dishwasher and a little bit more space, and those run around $1,200 to $1,300 per month. (Apartments.com puts the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment at $1,162 a month.)
What is grocery shopping like, and what’s your average grocery bill?
With inflation, what I’ve done lately is I’ve started couponing. I don’t go to any grocery store unless I have coupons and there are deals. It’s hard to make that time to plan out a grocery trip, but I’m shopping at more than one store and looking at the weekly deals, which is a job in itself. My son is a middle schooler now, so he is hungry all day. We normally spend about $150 a week on groceries.
What is the cost of dinner and drinks for two people, and what are some of your favorite places to go? …