Akron, Ohio Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B+

Overall 14%

Goods & Services 1%

Housing 48%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from C2ER in January, 2021; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Akron	Ohio	National
Cost of living	86	90	100
Goods & Services	101	98	100
Groceries	103	99	100
Health care	102	99	100
Housing	52	73	100
Transportation	95	101	100
Utilities	101	91	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Akron is 5% lower than the Ohio average
The cost of living in Akron is 14% lower than the national average
Akron housing is 48% lower than the national average
Ohio general sales tax is 13% higher than the national average
Ohio state income tax is 16% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$50,966	$4,247	$1,189	$1,529
Renters	$22,675	$1,890	$529	$680

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Akron is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Akron has a median income of about $50,966 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,189 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $22,675. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $529 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Ohio Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Ohio	5.75%	8%

Ohio Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Ohio	2.85%	4.797%

Goods & Services

Item	Akron	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$17.39	$18.62	6.6%
Beauty Salon	$38.35	$39.05	1.8%
Toothpaste	$2.85	$2.34	21.6%
Shampoo	$0.92	$1.06	13.3%
Movie	$8.01	$10.68	25.1%
Bowling	$13.77	$14.67	6.1%

Groceries

Item	Akron	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.47	$4.22	5.9%
Fried Chicken	$1.52	$1.39	9.8%
Milk	$1.80	$2.05	12.2%
Potatoes	$3.34	$3.29	1.5%
Pizza	$9.96	$10.62	6.2%
Beer	$9.54	$9.38	1.6%

Health Care

Item	Akron	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$121.64	$108.57	12.0%
Doctor	$119.89	$116.17	3.2%
Dentist	$106.05	$99.13	7.0%
Ibuprofen	$7.54	$9.68	22.1%
Lipitor	$452.08	$466.92	3.2%

Housing

Item	Akron	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$80,000.00	$184,700.00	56.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,143.30	$1,197.42	4.5%
Apartment Rent	$693.00	$949.00	27.0%

Transportation

Item	Akron	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.11	$2.22	5.3%
Tire Balancing	$46.73	$50.07	6.7%

Utilities

Item	Akron	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$171.89	$167.67	2.5%
Phone	$178.76	$175.64	1.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Sawyerwood, OH	1,316	84	-16%
Barberton, OH	26,266	86	-14%
Ravenna, OH	11,582	88	-12%
Rittman, OH	6,528	89	-11%
Lakemore, OH	3,064	90	-10%
Akron, OH	198,508	86	-14%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Shreveport, LA	198,571	90	-10%
Huntington Beach, CA	198,724	170	70%
Glendale, CA	197,895	167	67%
Little Rock, AR	197,640	94	-6%
Amarillo, TX	197,570	83	-17%
Akron, OH	198,508	86	-14%

Source: The Akron, OH cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2020.