Cincinnati, Ohio Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B

Overall 12%

Goods & Services 1%

Housing 33%

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	Cincinnati	Ohio	National
Cost of living	88	91	100
Goods & Services	99	99	100
Groceries	96	99	100
Health care	98	97	100
Housing	67	73	100
Transportation	103	98	100
Utilities	88	92	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Cincinnati is 3% lower than the Ohio average
The cost of living in Cincinnati is 12% lower than the national average
Cincinnati housing is 33% 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	$65,474	$5,456	$1,528	$1,964
Renters	$22,644	$1,887	$528	$679

To approximate the cost of living and the housing affordability in Cincinnati, OH, we can look at the percentage of income that is available to be spent on monthly housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). To stay on the safe side, a consumer should not spend more than 28% of his or her gross income on housing-related expenses and costs and not more than 36% of income on all expenses and debts. Homeowners in Cincinnati have a median income of $65,474. Therefore, the amount that a consumer should spend on housing costs should be no more than $1,528 per month to avoid calamity and poverty. The renters in the city have an income of about $22,644, which would make their monthly maximum allowable rental costs $528.

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	Cincinnati	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$21.92	$20.27	8.1%
Beauty Salon	$40.87	$40.39	1.2%
Toothpaste	$1.97	$2.36	16.5%
Shampoo	$0.91	$1.08	15.1%
Movie	$13.19	$10.99	20.0%
Bowling	$12.60	$15.49	18.7%

Groceries

Item	Cincinnati	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.23	$4.30	1.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.54	$1.40	10.3%
Milk	$1.60	$2.20	27.4%
Potatoes	$3.11	$3.22	3.4%
Pizza	$10.50	$10.74	2.2%
Beer	$8.88	$9.60	7.5%

Health Care

Item	Cincinnati	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$101.13	$109.73	7.8%
Doctor	$112.13	$118.34	5.2%
Dentist	$101.55	$100.94	0.6%
Ibuprofen	$9.14	$9.93	8.0%
Lipitor	$484.40	$469.53	3.2%

Housing

Item	Cincinnati	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$120,300.00	$184,700.00	34.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,029.14	$1,229.62	16.3%
Apartment Rent	$662.00	$949.00	30.2%

Transportation

Item	Cincinnati	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.70	$2.71	0.3%
Tire Balancing	$56.53	$51.86	9.0%

Utilities

Item	Cincinnati	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$136.41	$170.84	20.2%
Phone	$183.28	$187.18	2.1%

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.
Brecon, OH	309	97	-3%
Plainville, OH	26	97	-3%
Shawnee village, OH	541	80	-20%
Dillonvale village, OH	645	80	-20%
Elmwood Place, OH	1,831	81	-19%
Cincinnati, OH	298,011	88	-12%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
St. Paul, MN	297,160	102	2%
Anchorage, AK	299,321	130	30%
Stockton, CA	301,443	109	9%
Pittsburgh, PA	305,305	93	-7%
Lexington-Fayette, KY	311,529	94	-6%
Cincinnati, OH	298,011	88	-12%

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