Columbia vs Yonkers
The short version
- Columbia is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 7% lower than in the Yonkers area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $497,400 in Columbia and $501,600 in Yonkers.
- Households earn more in Columbia ($131,490 vs $83,549 median).
- Yonkers gets far more snow: 30 inches a year vs 19.
- Commutes are shorter in Columbia (28 vs 36 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Columbia, MD | Yonkers, NY | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 104,338 | 212,603 |
| Growth since 2020 | n/a | +0.5% |
| People per square mile | 3,267 | 11,807 |
| Median age | 39.4 | 39.9 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 64% | 36% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $131,490 | $83,549 |
| Median home value | $497,400 | $501,600 |
| Home value to income | 3.8× | 6.0× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $2,042 | $1,784 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 104.5 | 112.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 118.2 | 148.6 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $78,400 | $84,400 |
| Homeowners | 65% | 46% |
| Top state income tax | 6.5% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6% | 8.54% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 27.9 | 35.6 |
| Work from home | 25% | 12% |
| Take public transit | 2% | 23% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.2% | 7.1% |
| Poverty rate | 7.5% | 13.8% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 43° / 25° | 40° / 29° |
| July high / low | 89° / 68° | 86° / 72° |
| Precipitation per year | 45 in | 45 in |
| Snowfall per year | 19 in | 30 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 34 | 22 |
| Nights below freezing | 93 | 62 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 5 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively Low | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 72.4 | 96.2 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 58% | 42% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.7% | +5.7% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +31.8% | +45.1% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Columbia: April to June and September to October. Yonkers: May to June and August to October.
Full monthly tables: Columbia weather by month and Yonkers weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $78,400 in Columbia and $84,400 in Yonkers. Moving from Columbia to Yonkers, you would need about $80,800 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Columbia and Yonkers
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Columbia and Yonkers.
Which would you pick?
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