How Affordable Is the Cost of Living in Ohio? | GetJerry.com (2024)

Ohio is more famous for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than its cost of living. In fact, if you ask the average American, they may have no idea how affordable the cost of living is in Ohio.

The cost of living index in Ohio is 82.6.

What does this number really mean? The US average cost of living index is set at 100 exactly. Any number below 100 means a lower-than-average cost of living. For instance, West Virginia’s cost of living index is 78.1 while Maryland’s is 113.

In other words, Ohio is pretty darned affordable compared to a lot of other states when it comes to the cost of living.

Let’s break down that 82.6 COLI (cost of living index) into more specific categories. Let’s see how much food, healthcare, housing, transportation, and more cost in Ohio as compared to the national average.

Food is included as part of necessary spending each month. This category only includes your take-home groceries, however. It excludes all restaurant meals, take-out, fast food, and coffee drive-thru stops.

If you are a single adult in Ohio, you can expect to spend about $285 per month just on take-home groceries. A family of four (with two adults and two children) can expect to pay closer to $839 every month for food. In 2020, the average monthly grocery bill for US households was approximately $411—but that number rises every year.

Remember, this monthly figure does not include date nights, beers with friends, or coffee shops.

Average annual healthcare costs per person in Ohio total $2,637, or $220 per month. That’s significantly lower than the national average of $477 per month.

Healthcare costs vary dramatically from family to family, so it’s a little hard to generalize. If you have someone in the household who needs costly prescriptions or other major care, then you’ll pay a lot more for healthcare. But the baseline average cost of healthcare in Ohio is quite affordable, at about half the national figure.

It’s no surprise that housing costs take up a huge chunk of the budget for cost of living in Ohio. In summer 2022, the average home value in Ohio was about $213,000.

Renters and buyers will pay different monthly costs for housing. Your exact cost depends on the type of home you live in:

Now, let’s take a pause. The numbers above represent the state average, so there are cities in Ohio where the housing prices cost more and cost less.

Housing prices in Ohio are lower than the national average. The typical home value in the US is quite a bit higher at 337,560 and the average rent is about $1,904 per month.

Transportation is another non-negotiable expense that is factored into cost of living in Ohio. However, your transportation costs really depend on where you live. For instance, commuters in a city might use public transit or drive. Rural dwellers might need to drive farther—or they might telecommute.

In Ohio, you can expect to pay between $442 and $1,166 per month for transportation. For context, the national average for a two-person household is $818 per month.

Here’s a more specific breakdown of transportation costs in Ohio:

Using these calculations, we can see that a single adult needs to earn at least $31,220 per year, or $15.61/hour, to live comfortably in Ohio. A living wage for a family of four, on the other hand, is $46,000 per year or $23.29/hour.

The minimum wage in Ohio is $9.30 per hour. It could be tricky to earn enough to meet your needs here unless you have a higher-paying job. On top of essential costs, you’ll need to pay for things like entertainment and saving for the future.

Here’s a list of some common non-essentials with Ohio’s prices compared to the national average price:

Everyone is different—you may be able to live happily on less than $31,220 per year! However, this figure is the average baseline budget for annual cost of living in Ohio.

Now we know that pretty much everything in Ohio is cheaper than the national average. But there’s even better news: some Ohio cities have a lower cost of living than the state average (82.6).

Check out this list of affordable cities in Ohio:

If you’re serious about saving money, consider one of these five cities for your relocation to Ohio.

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