Ohio Ranked as Most Affordable State

Many factors contribute to what makes a good home and what to look for when thinking about where your family will plant its roots.

One of those main factors is affordable living, and a recent study from U.S. News & World Report ranked Ohio as the best state for affordability. The study looked at and weighed information based on several factors to determine affordability, which it defines by the cost of daily life compared to available household income. Two of these main components are Cost of Living and Housing Affordability.

Cost of Living

While cost of living can vary based on state – and even region – Ohio ranks in the top 10 overall, according to U.S. News & World Report. Cost of living can generally be described as how easy it is to “make ends meet” in a given town, city, state, and so forth.

A major source for compiling cost-of-living information comes from the 2020 report by the Council for Community and Economic Research. It pulls together information from various cities in each state based on six categories:

• Food
• Housing
• Utilities
• Transportation
• Health care
• Miscellaneous goods and services

JobsOhio also highlights the state’s ideal cost of living, noting that the cost of living in Ohio’s prominent cities is around 42% to 70% lower than such cities as San Francisco and New York City.

Housing Affordability

By comparing the average housing price and family income, U.S. News & World Report ranked Ohio second best for housing affordability. Several additional factors such as mortgage interest rates and a Moody's Analytics report (with the U.S. Census Bureau) from 2019 helped determine the overall ranking.

Ohio is situated as a desirable spot to live, with a median household income of $58,116, according to the 2020 census, which while close to the median household income of $67,521 for the U.S., is considered alongside the states’ housing price; which is lower and more competitive compared to surrounding states.