Cost of living in Ohio

Ohio at a glance

Median rent

$1,034

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$71,389

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$214,800

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$2,822

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

23 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

4.8%

Census ACS, DP03

Ohio's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 7% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in Ohio

These are the most populous places in Ohio, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Franklin County

  Population

  1.33M

  Rent

  $1,302

  Household income

  $75,176

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,244

  Set as targetPlan

• Cuyahoga County

  Population

  1.25M

  Rent

  $1,060

  Household income

  $64,468

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,910

  Set as targetPlan

• Hamilton County

  Population

  831K

  Rent

  $1,075

  Household income

  $72,470

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,652

  Set as targetPlan

Ohio, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803, as the 17th state. Ohio was the first state carved from the Northwest Territory. Its capital moved from Chillicothe and Zanesville to Columbus in 1816.

• Cuyahoga Valley National Park

  The Cuyahoga River, forests, hills and farmland between Cleveland and Akron, with the Towpath Trail along the Ohio & Erie Canal.

• Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

  Mounds and earthen enclosures that Native Americans built nearly 2,000 years ago in southern Ohio.

• Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

  Sites that honor Wilbur and Orville Wright and the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Ohio

Current owners in Ohio pay a median 1.31% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $2,822 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $1,176 in Monroe County to $7,132 in Delaware County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Ohio

Life expectancy

75.2 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

7.1%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

17.9%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

101

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Ohio as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Ohio

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$3.1B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.00

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$1.9B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in Ohio

Side by side

Franklin County, OH is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in Ohio

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

1. 1Franklin County1.33M
2. 2Cuyahoga County1.25M
3. 3Hamilton County831K
4. 4Summit County538K
5. 5Montgomery County536K
6. 6Lucas County428K
7. 7Butler County393K
8. 8Stark County374K
9. 9Lorain County317K
10. 10Warren County250K

All 88 counties in Ohio

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: Ohio next to your own state, by what you value.

• See Ohio beside your own state

  Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

  Find your fit

• Pick a county here and make it your target

  The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

  See the three counties