Picking the Right Ohio City Starts With Better Comparisons
Four cities tracked, with rent spanning $901 in Toledo to $1,295 in Columbus.
EverydayBudd Editorial · Data as of July 27, 2026 · Rent, income, home value and commute from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 2024 5-year estimates); crime from the FBI Crime Data Explorer (2024). Other city comparison figures are illustrative estimates, not agency measurements.
Population
11.8M
ACS 2024
Median Rent
$1,034/mo
ACS 2024
Median Income
$71,389/yr
ACS 2024
Median Home Value
$214,800
ACS 2024
How affordable is Ohio on local pay?
Statewide, a median rent of $1,034/mo set against a median household income of $71,389/yr comes to 17.4% of gross income (ACS 2024). Budget guides often cite 30% of income as the mark for comfortable rent, though that's a convention rather than a rule. Ohio's 17.4% sits under it.
Toledo is the uncommon case where the cheapest rent is also the leanest against local wages, at 21.7% of median income.
Ohio offers a broad spread of city types, which makes quick assumptions risky. Columbus leads the state with an 18.3% work-from-home rate and the highest rent at $1,295/month, while Toledo holds rent at $901 with just 6.9% working remotely. Cleveland carries rent around $945 but household income at $40,801, the lowest among all cities we track in this region.
Some places line up well for families or renters, while others bring hidden tradeoffs that only show up once the numbers are side by side. This page helps you compare Ohio more intelligently.
6 Cities in Ohio
Click any city below to see the full breakdown.
Columbus
OHPop. 2,138,926
Rent $1,295Crime 8660
Columbus
OHPop. 2,138,926
Safety
43
Cost of Living
63
Roads & Traffic
58
Healthcare
75
Columbus data profile
Baseline metrics from public datasets. Real Census and FBI figures are marked sourced. Modeled categories are illustrative estimates.
Crime & Safety
Sourced dataIndex vs. national average (2024)
100 = national average (the tick). Lower is safer.
Public crime index data (2024). 100 = national average.
Cost of Living
Sourced dataRent, income & tax burden
- Median rent
- $1,295/mo
- Median household income
- $66,082/yr
- Rent-to-income
- 23.5%
- Effective income tax
- 4%
- Combined sales tax
- 7.5%
- Effective property tax
- 1.6%
Monthly budget on $5,507/mo median income
$1,295 rent, $4,212 left before other costs.
Rent & income: Census ACS 5-year estimates. Tax: illustrative effective-rate estimate, not from filed records.
Commute Reality Check
Sourced dataDistribution & mode split (2024)
- Mean commute
- 17.6 min
- Median commute
- 21 min
- 90th-percentile commute
- 36 min
- Super-commuters (60 min+)
- 3.2%
- Drive alone
- 67.7%
- Transit
- 1.9%
- Work from home
- 18.3%
- Walk
- 0.4%
- Bike
- 1%
- Carpool
- 7.8%
How people get to work
Census ACS 5-year (B08303, B08006, B08013, B08301). WFH trend vs 2019 national baseline.
Healthcare Access
Illustrative estimate8-dimension health system assessment
- Overall access
- 75/100
Illustrative healthcare access proxy scores (0-100). Modeled estimate, not official data.
Quality of Life
Illustrative estimate7 livability dimensions
- Housing cost
- 62/100
Illustrative quality-of-life proxy scores (0-100). Modeled estimate, not official data.
Environmental Quality
Illustrative estimateAir & water safety (2023)
- Median AQI
- 46
Illustrative estimates modeled on EPA AQS (air) and EPA SDWIS / EWG (water) methodology. Not official EPA measurements.
Natural Disaster & Climate Risk
Illustrative estimate8-hazard risk profile (2024)
- Overall risk
- 25/100
Illustrative risk estimates modeled on FEMA NRI, NOAA, USGS, EPA methodology. Not official FEMA data.
Internet & Connectivity
Illustrative estimateBroadband speeds & access (2024)
- Median download (Mbps)
- 205
Illustrative estimates modeled on FCC BDC, Ookla, NTIA methodology. Not official FCC data.
Food Environment
Illustrative estimateFood access & diversity (2024)
- Food score
- 59/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on USDA Food Environment Atlas methodology. Not official USDA data.
Migration Patterns
Illustrative estimateWho's moving in & out (2022, modeled estimate)
- Net migration
- 7,600
Illustrative estimates modeled on IRS SOI, Census ACS mobility, PEP methodology. Not official IRS data.
School Quality
Illustrative estimateSpending, outcomes & equity (2023)
- Per-pupil spending
- $12,840
Illustrative estimates modeled on NCES, NAEP, ED Data Express methodology. Not official NCES data.
Economic Resilience
Illustrative estimateIndustry mix & business dynamism (2023)
- Top industry
- Government & Education (13.2%)
Illustrative estimates modeled on BLS, Census BDS, BEA methodology. Not official BLS data.
Utility Costs
Illustrative estimateSeasonal curves & energy mix (2023)
- Total per month
- $235/mo
Illustrative estimates modeled on EIA, NREL, EPA WaterSense methodology. Not official EIA data.
Pet Friendliness
Illustrative estimateDog parks, vet access & pet housing (2023)
- Pet score
- 66/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on Trust for Public Land, AVMA methodology. Not official figures.
Parks & Outdoor Access
Illustrative estimatePark walkability, trails & nature reach (2023)
- Park score
- 62/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on Trust for Public Land ParkScore, EPA EnviroAtlas methodology. Not official figures.
Cincinnati
OHPop. 2,232,907
Rent $1,001Crime 8656
Cincinnati
OHPop. 2,232,907
Safety
31
Cost of Living
61
Roads & Traffic
58
Healthcare
73
Cincinnati data profile
Baseline metrics from public datasets. Real Census and FBI figures are marked sourced. Modeled categories are illustrative estimates.
Crime & Safety
Sourced dataIndex vs. national average (2024)
100 = national average (the tick). Lower is safer.
Public crime index data (2024). 100 = national average.
Cost of Living
Sourced dataRent, income & tax burden
- Median rent
- $1,001/mo
- Median household income
- $52,909/yr
- Rent-to-income
- 22.7%
- Effective income tax
- 4.2%
- Combined sales tax
- 7%
- Effective property tax
- 1.7%
Monthly budget on $4,409/mo median income
$1,001 rent, $3,408 left before other costs.
Rent & income: Census ACS 5-year estimates. Tax: illustrative effective-rate estimate, not from filed records.
Commute Reality Check
Sourced dataDistribution & mode split (2024)
- Mean commute
- 19 min
- Median commute
- 21 min
- 90th-percentile commute
- 40 min
- Super-commuters (60 min+)
- 4.4%
- Drive alone
- 64.6%
- Transit
- 5.3%
- Work from home
- 15%
- Walk
- 0.3%
- Bike
- 2.2%
- Carpool
- 7%
How people get to work
Census ACS 5-year (B08303, B08006, B08013, B08301). WFH trend vs 2019 national baseline.
Healthcare Access
Illustrative estimate8-dimension health system assessment
- Overall access
- 73/100
Illustrative healthcare access proxy scores (0-100). Modeled estimate, not official data.
Quality of Life
Illustrative estimate7 livability dimensions
- Housing cost
- 68/100
Illustrative quality-of-life proxy scores (0-100). Modeled estimate, not official data.
Environmental Quality
Illustrative estimateAir & water safety (2023)
- Median AQI
- 48
Illustrative estimates modeled on EPA AQS (air) and EPA SDWIS / EWG (water) methodology. Not official EPA measurements.
Natural Disaster & Climate Risk
Illustrative estimate8-hazard risk profile (2024)
- Overall risk
- 28/100
Illustrative risk estimates modeled on FEMA NRI, NOAA, USGS, EPA methodology. Not official FEMA data.
Internet & Connectivity
Illustrative estimateBroadband speeds & access (2024)
- Median download (Mbps)
- 215
Illustrative estimates modeled on FCC BDC, Ookla, NTIA methodology. Not official FCC data.
Food Environment
Illustrative estimateFood access & diversity (2024)
- Food score
- 60/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on USDA Food Environment Atlas methodology. Not official USDA data.
School Quality
Illustrative estimateSpending, outcomes & equity (2023)
- Per-pupil spending
- $14,280
Illustrative estimates modeled on NCES, NAEP, ED Data Express methodology. Not official NCES data.
Economic Resilience
Illustrative estimateIndustry mix & business dynamism (2023)
- Top industry
- Manufacturing & Finance (13.5%)
Illustrative estimates modeled on BLS, Census BDS, BEA methodology. Not official BLS data.
Utility Costs
Illustrative estimateSeasonal curves & energy mix (2023)
- Total per month
- $234/mo
Illustrative estimates modeled on EIA, NREL, EPA WaterSense methodology. Not official EIA data.
Pet Friendliness
Illustrative estimateDog parks, vet access & pet housing (2023)
- Pet score
- 64/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on Trust for Public Land, AVMA methodology. Not official figures.
Parks & Outdoor Access
Illustrative estimatePark walkability, trails & nature reach (2023)
- Park score
- 64/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on Trust for Public Land ParkScore, EPA EnviroAtlas methodology. Not official figures.
Toledo
OHPop. 641,816
Rent $901Crime 8653
Toledo
OHPop. 641,816
Safety
30
Cost of Living
69
Roads & Traffic
55
Healthcare
55
Toledo data profile
Baseline metrics from public datasets. Real Census and FBI figures are marked sourced. Modeled categories are illustrative estimates.
Crime & Safety
Sourced dataIndex vs. national average (2024)
100 = national average (the tick). Lower is safer.
Public crime index data (2024). 100 = national average.
Cost of Living
Sourced dataRent, income & tax burden
- Median rent
- $901/mo
- Median household income
- $49,724/yr
- Rent-to-income
- 21.7%
Monthly budget on $4,144/mo median income
$901 rent, $3,243 left before other costs.
Rent & income: Census ACS 5-year estimates. Tax: illustrative effective-rate estimate, not from filed records.
Commute Reality Check
Sourced dataDistribution & mode split (2024)
- Mean commute
- 18.4 min
- Median commute
- 19 min
- 90th-percentile commute
- 34 min
- Super-commuters (60 min+)
- 3.6%
- Drive alone
- 77.6%
- Transit
- 1.1%
- Work from home
- 6.9%
- Walk
- 0.3%
- Bike
- 0.8%
- Carpool
- 10.9%
How people get to work
Census ACS 5-year (B08303, B08006, B08013, B08301). WFH trend vs 2019 national baseline.
Cleveland
OHPop. 2,088,251
Rent $945Crime 8650
Cleveland
OHPop. 2,088,251
Safety
16
Cost of Living
50
Roads & Traffic
58
Healthcare
77
Cleveland data profile
Baseline metrics from public datasets. Real Census and FBI figures are marked sourced. Modeled categories are illustrative estimates.
Crime & Safety
Sourced dataIndex vs. national average (2024)
100 = national average (the tick). Lower is safer.
Public crime index data (2024). 100 = national average.
Cost of Living
Sourced dataRent, income & tax burden
- Median rent
- $945/mo
- Median household income
- $40,801/yr
- Rent-to-income
- 27.8%
- Effective income tax
- 4.5%
- Combined sales tax
- 8%
- Effective property tax
- 1.9%
Monthly budget on $3,400/mo median income
$945 rent, $2,455 left before other costs.
Rent & income: Census ACS 5-year estimates. Tax: illustrative effective-rate estimate, not from filed records.
Commute Reality Check
Sourced dataDistribution & mode split (2024)
- Mean commute
- 19.9 min
- Median commute
- 21 min
- 90th-percentile commute
- 39 min
- Super-commuters (60 min+)
- 4.1%
- Drive alone
- 64.6%
- Transit
- 6.5%
- Work from home
- 11.5%
- Walk
- 0.5%
- Bike
- 2.1%
- Carpool
- 9.6%
How people get to work
Census ACS 5-year (B08303, B08006, B08013, B08301). WFH trend vs 2019 national baseline.
Healthcare Access
Illustrative estimate8-dimension health system assessment
- Overall access
- 77/100
Illustrative healthcare access proxy scores (0-100). Modeled estimate, not official data.
Quality of Life
Illustrative estimate7 livability dimensions
- Housing cost
- 75/100
Illustrative quality-of-life proxy scores (0-100). Modeled estimate, not official data.
Environmental Quality
Illustrative estimateAir & water safety (2023)
- Median AQI
- 48
Illustrative estimates modeled on EPA AQS (air) and EPA SDWIS / EWG (water) methodology. Not official EPA measurements.
Natural Disaster & Climate Risk
Illustrative estimate8-hazard risk profile (2024)
- Overall risk
- 23/100
Illustrative risk estimates modeled on FEMA NRI, NOAA, USGS, EPA methodology. Not official FEMA data.
Internet & Connectivity
Illustrative estimateBroadband speeds & access (2024)
- Median download (Mbps)
- 168
Illustrative estimates modeled on FCC BDC, Ookla, NTIA methodology. Not official FCC data.
Food Environment
Illustrative estimateFood access & diversity (2024)
- Food score
- 46/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on USDA Food Environment Atlas methodology. Not official USDA data.
Migration Patterns
Illustrative estimateWho's moving in & out (2022, modeled estimate)
- Net migration
- -6,400
Illustrative estimates modeled on IRS SOI, Census ACS mobility, PEP methodology. Not official IRS data.
School Quality
Illustrative estimateSpending, outcomes & equity (2023)
- Per-pupil spending
- $16,480
Illustrative estimates modeled on NCES, NAEP, ED Data Express methodology. Not official NCES data.
Economic Resilience
Illustrative estimateIndustry mix & business dynamism (2023)
- Top industry
- Healthcare & Manufacturing (14.2%)
Illustrative estimates modeled on BLS, Census BDS, BEA methodology. Not official BLS data.
Utility Costs
Illustrative estimateSeasonal curves & energy mix (2023)
- Total per month
- $241/mo
Illustrative estimates modeled on EIA, NREL, EPA WaterSense methodology. Not official EIA data.
Pet Friendliness
Illustrative estimateDog parks, vet access & pet housing (2023)
- Pet score
- 58/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on Trust for Public Land, AVMA methodology. Not official figures.
Parks & Outdoor Access
Illustrative estimatePark walkability, trails & nature reach (2023)
- Park score
- 58/100
Illustrative estimates modeled on Trust for Public Land ParkScore, EPA EnviroAtlas methodology. Not official figures.
Akron
OHPop. 189,247
Rent $955Crime 86
Akron
OHPop. 189,247
Akron data profile
Baseline metrics from public datasets. Real Census and FBI figures are marked sourced. Modeled categories are illustrative estimates.
Crime & Safety
Sourced dataIndex vs. national average (2024)
100 = national average (the tick). Lower is safer.
Public crime index data (2024). 100 = national average.
Cost of Living
Sourced dataRent, income & tax burden
- Median rent
- $955/mo
- Median household income
- $48,076/yr
- Rent-to-income
- 23.8%
Monthly budget on $4,006/mo median income
$955 rent, $3,051 left before other costs.
Rent & income: Census ACS 5-year estimates. Tax: illustrative effective-rate estimate, not from filed records.
Commute Reality Check
Sourced dataDistribution & mode split (2024)
- Mean commute
- 19.7 min
- Median commute
- 19 min
- 90th-percentile commute
- 46 min
- Super-commuters (60 min+)
- 4.2%
- Drive alone
- 71.7%
- Transit
- 2%
- Work from home
- 11.2%
- Walk
- 0.3%
- Bike
- 0.8%
- Carpool
- 11.3%
How people get to work
Census ACS 5-year (B08303, B08006, B08013, B08301). WFH trend vs 2019 national baseline.
Dayton
OHPop. 136,579
Rent $918Crime 86
Dayton
OHPop. 136,579
Dayton data profile
Baseline metrics from public datasets. Real Census and FBI figures are marked sourced. Modeled categories are illustrative estimates.
Crime & Safety
Sourced dataIndex vs. national average (2024)
100 = national average (the tick). Lower is safer.
Public crime index data (2024). 100 = national average.
Cost of Living
Sourced dataRent, income & tax burden
- Median rent
- $918/mo
- Median household income
- $45,247/yr
- Rent-to-income
- 24.3%
Monthly budget on $3,771/mo median income
$918 rent, $2,853 left before other costs.
Rent & income: Census ACS 5-year estimates. Tax: illustrative effective-rate estimate, not from filed records.
Commute Reality Check
Sourced dataDistribution & mode split (2024)
- Mean commute
- 18.3 min
- Median commute
- 18 min
- 90th-percentile commute
- 35 min
- Super-commuters (60 min+)
- 4.7%
- Drive alone
- 72.2%
- Transit
- 3.1%
- Work from home
- 9.7%
- Walk
- 0.2%
- Bike
- 1.7%
- Carpool
- 9.2%
How people get to work
Census ACS 5-year (B08303, B08006, B08013, B08301). WFH trend vs 2019 national baseline.
What Ohio's Six Cities Charge in Rent and Pay in Income
Ohio tracks six metro areas in our dashboard, and the spread across them is wider than most people expect from a single Midwest state. Columbus posts rent at $1,295/month on $66,082 income. Cleveland charges $945 but earns just $40,801, the lowest household income among all Ohio cities we track, even with the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio's largest employer) and Sherwin-Williams headquartered in the metro. That's a $350 rent gap and a $25,281 income gap between two cities three hours apart.
The mid-tier tells its own story. Cincinnati, home to Procter & Gamble and Kroger, sits at $1,001 rent on $52,909 income, affordable enough on paper but not always on a mid-tier Ohio paycheck. Its rent-to-income ratio runs about 22.7%, which is fine. In Cleveland it climbs to 27.8%, approaching the stress threshold on a much lower base.
Then there's the bottom of the rent ladder. Toledo offers the cheapest housing of the six at $901 rent on $49,724 income, in a metro still built around the Jeep plant that assembles the Wrangler and the Owens-Illinois glassmaking that earned it the Glass City name. But cheap rent on low income doesn't automatically equal affordability. It can just mean a lower overall economic floor, and Toledo's 6.9% work-from-home share, the lowest in the state, ties most households to whatever the local job market happens to pay.
Akron and Dayton land in the middle, and both earn more than Cleveland on close to identical rent. Akron runs $955 on $48,076, Dayton $918 on $45,247, which leaves each of them in better rent-to-income shape than Cleveland's 27.8%. Akron still turns on Goodyear, founded there in 1898 and headquartered there since. Dayton's real economic anchor sits just outside the city limits at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the largest single-site employer in the state. Neither is a growth story. Both are cheaper than their reputations.
Columbus stands alone at the top of Ohio's city hierarchy on almost every metric: highest rent, highest income, highest remote-work rate (18.3%), and the shortest mean commute (17.6 minutes). Nationwide and JPMorgan Chase employ tens of thousands downtown, Ohio State sprawls across the north side, and the Intel semiconductor fabs rising in New Albany are the state's biggest bet on what comes next. If you can afford Columbus, it delivers more daily convenience per dollar than anywhere else in the state.
The question isn't which Ohio city is "best". It's which one matches where you are financially. A household earning $45,000 has different best options than one earning $70,000, and Ohio's six-city spread accommodates both.
Columbus and Cleveland Bracket Ohio's Short, Splintered Commute
Columbus has the shortest commute of the six Ohio cities we track, a mean 17.6 minutes one way, and Cleveland the longest at 19.9 (ACS 2024). The 2.3 minutes between them is narrow, and all six Ohio metros run several minutes under the U.S. average of 26.8. This is a state of short, manageable commutes, and the real differences hide in the mode split.
Cleveland and Cincinnati carry the state's transit. Cleveland runs 6.5% on the RTA Rapid, the rail lines that still tie downtown to the airport and the east side, and Cincinnati 5.3%, both meaningfully above what Columbus or Toledo offer. Those older industrial cities were built dense enough, before the car era, to keep a rail backbone the newer parts of the state never had.
Columbus is the modern Ohio commute: fast, car-based, and increasingly remote. Its 18.3% work-from-home share is the highest in the state, a function of the insurance, banking, and tech employment plus Ohio State's sprawling presence, and that remote share is part of why the capital posts the shortest average trip despite being the largest and fastest-growing metro. Toledo is the car-dependent counterweight, 77.6% driving alone, the highest solo-driving share in the state, with a 6.9% remote rate less than half of Columbus's.
The distribution stays tame across all six. Akron carries the longest tail in the state and its 90th-percentile trip still only runs 46 minutes, and the super-commuter shares stay low statewide, so Ohio avoids the punishing long-haul tails that plague bigger metros. For a household comparing the six, the commute won't be the deciding factor, but the transit access might. Cleveland and Cincinnati are the only Ohio cities where a car-light life is even partly realistic, and the rest run on rubber. These are ACS 2024 figures, current rather than the older Census data most Ohio comparisons still recycle, and they capture a Columbus remote-work share that roughly doubled after 2020.
Finding Your Ohio City Based on What You Actually Need
Ohio's six-city spread lets you optimize for different priorities without leaving the state. Here's how the matchmaking breaks down based on real household situations.
Best for young professionals and remote workers: Columbus. The $1,295 rent is the highest in Ohio, but the $66,082 income and 18.3% remote-work rate make it the most economically dynamic city in the state. The 17.6-minute average commute is the shortest among all six. Columbus is also the only Ohio metro where rent and income both track reasonably close to national medians, it feels like a "normal" mid-size city rather than a legacy industrial town reinventing itself.
Best for budget-conscious families: Cincinnati. At $1,001/month rent on $52,909 income, Cincinnati hits a sweet spot, affordable enough to be comfortable, but with enough economic activity (15% WFH, 5.3% transit) to avoid feeling stagnant. The commute averages 19 minutes, and the metro population of 2.2 million provides the full range of schools, healthcare, and retail without the premium Columbus charges.
Best for maximum savings on minimum income: Toledo. Its $901 rent is the lowest of the six, and it pairs with the state's lowest work-from-home share at 6.9%. The savings are real, but with that little remote work your income likely rides on the local job market. Toledo suits retirees, fixed-income households, or anyone whose paycheck isn't tied to the metro.
Best for transit access: Cleveland. The 6.5% transit usage rate is Ohio's highest, and the $945 rent is among the lowest. But Cleveland's $40,801 median income, the lowest of any city we track in this region, means the affordability comes with serious earning limitations. Cleveland makes sense for students, retirees, or households with income sources independent of the local economy.
Who should skip Ohio: households that need strong safety composites will find Ohio's 86/93 crime profile adequate but not exceptional, Iowa (68 violent) and parts of Minnesota offer better numbers. Anyone targeting high-income tech careers will find Ohio's top incomes capped well below what Austin, Denver, or Raleigh metros offer. And transit-dependent households will still need a car in every Ohio city: 6.5% in Cleveland is the ceiling, not a foundation for car-free life.
Expand any city card below to compare the full data set, rent, income, crime index, commute breakdown, and overall livability score, across all six tracked Ohio metros.
Planning a move to Ohio?
These calculators pair well with the Ohio, OH dashboard.
How we calculate Ohio cities scores
City scores blend federal baseline data with community reports from residents. The more reports a city has, the more the score reflects current conditions rather than historical averages.
Data sources
- Sourced baseline: rent, income, home value and commute from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 2024 5-year estimates); crime from the FBI Crime Data Explorer (2024).
- Modeled inputs: healthcare access and the other city comparison figures are illustrative estimates, not official agency measurements.
- Community reports: grocery prices, rent costs, crime incidents, road conditions, and hospital wait times submitted by residents, where any exist.
- Verification: when residents submit reports with receipts, photos, or news links, those count double. Most cities we track carry few or no community reports today, so their scores rest on the sourced baseline above.
Category weights
The overall score is a weighted average of four categories:
Confidence tiers
Confidence tells you how reliable a score is based on report volume and recency:
- High confidence: 50+ effective reports in the last 30 days
- Medium confidence: 10-49 effective reports in 30 days
- Low confidence: Fewer than 10 reports; score relies mainly on federal baseline data
Score formula
CityScore = (BaselineWeight × BaselineScore) + (CrowdWeight × CommunityScore)
CrowdWeight grows from 0% to 50% as reports accumulate. Verified reports count double.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ohio
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Toledo affordable on a local salary?
In Toledo, median rent takes 21.7% of the median household income, per the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. That's $901/mo in gross rent against $49,724/yr in income. The common budgeting line is 30% of gross pay, a rule of thumb rather than a law, and at 21.7% a household on the local median clears that line with room to spare.
Which of Ohio's major cities has the cheapest rent?
Toledo has the lowest median rent of the 6 Ohio cities we track, $901/month, per the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. That's against an Ohio median of $1,034/month. Expand its card above for income, commute and the full breakdown.
How does Ohio compare to the typical US state on cost?
Ohio's median rent runs 17.4% of the median household income statewide, per the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. That's $1,034/mo in rent against $71,389/yr in income. The national median household income sits near $75,000, so weigh Ohio's $71,389 against that before you factor in local rent.
Where in Ohio is the commute shortest?
Columbus has the shortest commute of the 6 Ohio cities we track, a mean of 17.6 minutes one way, per the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. That compares with a U.S. average of 26.8 minutes, and Cleveland sits at the other end at 19.9 minutes.
What separates Columbus and Cleveland on the daily commute?
Cleveland and Columbus sit 2.3 minutes apart on the average commute, per the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS 5-year estimates: Cleveland averages 19.9 minutes one way, Columbus 17.6. The mode split tells the rest. Columbus has the highest work-from-home share at 18.3%, and Cleveland the most transit use at 6.5%.
What does buying a home in Ohio cost?
Ohio's median home value is $214,800, per the Census Bureau's 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, against a median household income of $71,389/yr. That price-to-income gap is the number to weigh if you're buying rather than renting.