Is Ohio a Good Deal or a Trade-off?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#37

37th out of 50 states overall.

Below average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#14

14th cheapest state, about 12% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $65,800 here.

How we measure cost ›

Ohio ranks 37th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 14th for affordability. It does best on cost, walkability, and safety, and struggles most with climate, green space, and air quality. A typical household earns about $65,600 a year, and the cost of living runs about 12% below average.

Why Ohio ranks #37 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Ohio scores on each, best to worst.

Cost of living
#14 of 50
Walkability
#19 of 50
Safety
#21 of 50
Education
#27 of 50
Dog friendly
#32 of 50
Healthcare
#33 of 50
Economy
#34 of 50
Climate
#36 of 50
Green space
#41 of 50
Air quality
#46 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Ohio at a glance

Typical household income

$65,600

34th highest

Typical home price

$244,000

45th highest

Overall cost of living

12% below average

14th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 9%

36th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 24 min

one way

Taxes in Ohio

See your real Ohio take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Ohio taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.