Cleveland, Ohio Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B+

Overall 17%

Goods & Services 3%

Housing 54%

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	Cleveland	Ohio	National
Cost of living	83	91	100
Goods & Services	97	99	100
Groceries	103	99	100
Health care	104	97	100
Housing	46	73	100
Transportation	97	98	100
Utilities	98	92	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Cleveland is 9% lower than the Ohio average
The cost of living in Cleveland is 17% lower than the national average
Cleveland housing is 54% 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

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Cleveland

See all the best places to live around Cleveland

Compare Cleveland, OH Cost of Living

See all Cleveland poll results

The best places in Ohio

Here are the best places to live in Ohio

Top 10 best public schools in Cleveland

Top 10 cities in Ohio with the best education system

See the best places to live in & around Cleveland

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

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	$42,430	$3,536	$990	$1,273
Renters	$18,494	$1,541	$431	$555

To approximate the cost of living and the housing affordability in Cleveland, 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 Cleveland have a median income of $42,430. Therefore, the amount that a consumer should spend on housing costs should be no more than $990 per month to avoid calamity and poverty. The renters in the city have an income of about $18,494, which would make their monthly maximum allowable rental costs $431.

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	Cleveland	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.82	$20.27	2.2%
Beauty Salon	$32.55	$40.39	19.4%
Toothpaste	$2.53	$2.36	7.1%
Shampoo	$1.08	$1.08	0.6%
Movie	$11.71	$10.99	6.6%
Bowling	$16.78	$15.49	8.3%

Groceries

Item	Cleveland	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.45	$4.30	3.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.65	$1.40	17.7%
Milk	$1.75	$2.20	20.6%
Potatoes	$2.97	$3.22	7.6%
Pizza	$10.83	$10.74	0.8%
Beer	$8.99	$9.60	6.3%

Health Care

Item	Cleveland	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$90.58	$109.73	17.4%
Doctor	$116.73	$118.34	1.4%
Dentist	$110.67	$100.94	9.6%
Ibuprofen	$10.58	$9.93	6.6%
Lipitor	$518.98	$469.53	10.5%

Housing

Item	Cleveland	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$67,500.00	$184,700.00	63.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$951.68	$1,229.62	22.6%
Apartment Rent	$660.00	$949.00	30.5%

Transportation

Item	Cleveland	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.74	$2.71	1.2%
Tire Balancing	$46.16	$51.86	11.0%

Utilities

Item	Cleveland	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$165.92	$170.84	2.9%
Phone	$183.98	$187.18	1.7%

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.
East Cleveland, OH	17,413	81	-19%
Linndale, OH	125	82	-18%
Highland Hills, OH	967	82	-18%
Newburgh Heights, OH	1,869	83	-17%
Kinsman Center, OH	537	83	-17%
Cleveland, OH	389,165	83	-17%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Wichita, KS	388,033	89	-11%
Arlington, TX	383,899	96	-4%
New Orleans, LA	382,922	101	1%
Tulsa, OK	399,906	89	-11%
Minneapolis, MN	404,670	106	6%
Cleveland, OH	389,165	83	-17%

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