Finding an affordable abode in Ohio is as easy as catching a breeze off Lake Erie in the heart of the heartland.
The cheapest places to live in Ohio are proof positive of the Buckeye State’s reputation for providing quality living at an affordable cost. You don’t need to be raking in the big bucks like the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback to afford a home in these cities.
Our methodology for researching the most affordable cities in Ohio combines Saturday Night Science with Census data on home prices, cost of living, and incomes. We discovered you’ll find affordable places around cities like Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, to smaller towns.
$34,408 median income · $728 median rent · #1 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Trumbull County, Ohio
Youngstown, halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Northeast Ohio, ranks as the cheapest city in Ohio. With an average home price of $70,004, the cost of living index comes in at 76.
Affordable things to do in Youngstown include Mill Creek Wick Recreation Area and Wick Park to fill up a weekend.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$34,009 median income · $785 median rent · #5 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Columbiana County, Ohio
East Liverpool is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,195 at the time of the 2010 census. It is located along the Ohio River and borders the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. East Liverpool is a major city in the Salem, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area, approximately 40 miles from downtown Pittsburgh.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$40,801 median income · $945 median rent · #7 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
It’s always great to see a major city on the list of the most affordable, and Cleveland takes the third spot in Ohio. Cleveland offers a ton of economic opportunities mixed with affordable home prices. According to Zillow, the average home price is the seventh lowest in the state at $115,537.
Free things to do in the city include the Cleveland Museum of Art, Public Square, and Edgewater Beach.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$42,909 median income · $688 median rent · #6 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Mahoning County, Ohio
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$45,247 median income · $918 median rent · #20 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Montgomery County, Ohio
Dayton is the sixth-largest city in the state of Ohio and is the county seat of Montgomery County. A small portion of the city extends into Greene County. In the 2010 census, the population was 141,527, and the Dayton metropolitan area had 799,232 residents, making it Ohio’s fourth-largest metropolitan area, after Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus and the 63rd-largest in the United States. The Dayton-Springfield-Greenville Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,080,044 in 2010, making it the 43rd-largest in the United States. Dayton is within Ohio’s Miami Valley region, just north of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$37,887 median income · $766 median rent · #10 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Trumbull County, Ohio
Warren is a city in and the County seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio along the Mahoning River, Warren is approximately 14 miles northwest of Youngstown and 15 miles west of the Pennsylvania state border.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$46,240 median income · $903 median rent · #28 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Allen County, Ohio
Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately 72 miles north of Dayton and 78 miles south-southwest of Toledo.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$22,116 median income · $776 median rent · #2 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
East Cleveland is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and is the first suburb of Cleveland. The population was 17,843 at the 2010 census. East Cleveland is bounded by the city of Cleveland to its north, west, and a small section of its southwestern edge, and by Cleveland Heights to the east and the majority of its southern limits.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$54,151 median income · $809 median rent · #23 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Wood County, Ohio
Situated between Toledo and Columbus, Fostoria is a lot more affordable than either of the bigger cities. If you’re interested in the local heritage, Fostoria has a rich history of glass production — natural gas was discovered there during the 19th century, something you can learn more about at the local Glass Museum.
Fostoria also has several great local parks, chief among them being Fostoria Railpark, a favorite for train-watching.
The overall cost of living in Fostoria is 18% lower than the national average, but housing in Fostoria costs 42% what your average American city does. The median home price in Fostoria is only $139,393, and rent is under $700 in most places.
Not to mention that with a median household income of $54,151, these housing costs are relatively easy to keep pace with.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,176 median income · $803 median rent · #43 home prices in Ohio
Located in
Richland County, Ohio
Galion, Ohio’s tenth cheapest city, has a competitive $170,645 average home price and a cost of living index at 81. Located at the junction of Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties, this city of 10,339 people has an average rent of $803.
Galion’s blend of low expenses and community events like Oktoberfest offers residents cost-conscious camaraderie.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Ohio’s statewide median.
Ohio statewide median: $242,141
Ohio statewide median: $71,389
On the map
Where your money goes furthest in Ohio
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Buckeye State for 2026
Determining affordability for places in Ohio boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 for Ohio using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in Ohio to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 247 places in Ohio that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in Ohio with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Youngstown.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in Ohio.
The full plate
Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Youngstown | 59,331 | 76 | $34,408 | $70,004 | $728 |
| 2 | East Liverpool | 9,783 | 78 | $34,009 | $102,529 | $785 |
| 3 | Cleveland | 366,097 | 80 | $40,801 | $115,537 | $945 |
| 4 | Campbell | 7,784 | 80 | $42,909 | $106,436 | $688 |
| 5 | Dayton | 136,579 | 81 | $45,247 | $136,592 | $918 |
| 6 | Warren | 38,912 | 81 | $37,887 | $122,600 | $766 |
| 7 | Lima | 35,010 | 81 | $46,240 | $148,676 | $903 |
| 8 | East Cleveland | 13,534 | 81 | $22,116 | $75,766 | $776 |
| 9 | Fostoria | 12,344 | 81 | $54,151 | $139,393 | $809 |
| 10 | Galion | 10,339 | 81 | $52,176 | $170,645 | $803 |
| 11 | Struthers | 9,923 | 81 | $53,447 | $132,301 | $850 |
| 12 | Lorain | 65,395 | 82 | $48,685 | $150,829 | $887 |
| 13 | Mansfield | 47,663 | 82 | $44,540 | $149,109 | $814 |
| 14 | Barberton | 24,844 | 82 | $52,267 | $152,665 | $848 |
| 15 | Trotwood | 23,041 | 82 | $50,113 | $135,963 | $1,031 |
| 16 | Ashtabula | 17,856 | 82 | $44,120 | $151,258 | $793 |
| 17 | Salem | 11,758 | 82 | $47,073 | $181,905 | $763 |
| 18 | New Carlisle | 5,544 | 82 | $64,443 | $251,584 | $840 |
| 19 | Canton | 69,755 | 83 | $43,188 | $168,515 | $850 |
| 20 | Euclid | 48,823 | 83 | $50,285 | $144,364 | $1,025 |
| 21 | Sandusky | 24,606 | 83 | $50,139 | $146,646 | $905 |
| 22 | Portsmouth | 17,728 | 83 | $34,713 | $89,702 | $747 |
| 23 | Warrensville Heights | 13,545 | 83 | $49,669 | $134,771 | $1,044 |
| 24 | Greenville | 12,741 | 83 | $47,237 | $195,222 | $765 |
| 25 | Girard | 9,505 | 83 | $52,550 | $144,397 | $769 |
| 26 | Bellevue | 8,187 | 83 | $53,875 | $184,462 | $744 |
| 27 | Kenton | 7,663 | 83 | $56,033 | $174,694 | $625 |
| 28 | Wellston | 5,452 | 83 | $56,193 | $117,953 | $534 |
| 29 | Uhrichsville | 5,189 | 83 | $41,846 | $138,742 | $935 |
| 30 | Akron | 189,247 | 84 | $48,076 | $137,894 | $955 |
| 31 | Marion | 35,669 | 84 | $47,951 | $165,587 | $856 |
| 32 | Zanesville | 24,740 | 84 | $43,280 | $199,154 | $821 |
| 33 | Riverside | 24,435 | 84 | $61,352 | $171,957 | $1,050 |
| 34 | Alliance | 21,478 | 84 | $56,106 | $158,558 | $836 |
| 35 | Niles | 18,287 | 84 | $50,953 | $130,766 | $798 |
| 36 | Steubenville | 18,124 | 84 | $48,172 | $128,222 | $775 |
| 37 | Bucyrus | 11,594 | 84 | $54,349 | $158,594 | $765 |
| 38 | Ravenna | 11,274 | 84 | $59,971 | $215,181 | $947 |
| 39 | Coshocton | 11,068 | 84 | $48,731 | $161,328 | $768 |
| 40 | Van Wert | 10,790 | 84 | $55,113 | $179,630 | $765 |
| 41 | Ironton | 10,768 | 84 | $47,648 | $119,423 | $782 |
| 42 | Cambridge | 10,060 | 84 | $42,946 | $167,595 | $788 |
| 43 | Willard | 6,164 | 84 | $53,542 | $162,170 | $889 |
| 44 | Toledo | 267,463 | 85 | $49,724 | $129,627 | $901 |
| 45 | Springfield | 58,190 | 85 | $47,143 | $186,986 | $851 |
| 46 | Garfield Heights | 29,269 | 85 | $54,593 | $133,201 | $1,129 |
| 47 | Xenia | 25,689 | 85 | $56,029 | $252,478 | $931 |
| 48 | Tiffin | 17,818 | 85 | $56,198 | $185,605 | $890 |
| 49 | Defiance | 17,276 | 85 | $61,439 | $181,260 | $853 |
| 50 | Fremont | 15,835 | 85 | $47,024 | $173,490 | $775 |
| 51 | Washington Court House | 14,439 | 85 | $55,998 | $225,284 | $771 |
| 52 | West Carrollton | 12,976 | 85 | $61,619 | $175,407 | $1,028 |
| 53 | Brooklyn | 11,158 | 85 | $69,346 | $201,508 | $971 |
| 54 | Bedford Heights | 10,847 | 85 | $50,269 | $190,891 | $1,009 |
| 55 | Wapakoneta | 9,894 | 85 | $65,570 | $232,735 | $811 |
| 56 | Shelby | 8,865 | 85 | $58,351 | $184,566 | $780 |
| 57 | Cheviot | 8,660 | 85 | $53,132 | $182,475 | $878 |
| 58 | Upper Sandusky | 6,558 | 85 | $67,071 | $205,346 | $804 |
| 59 | Geneva | 5,886 | 85 | $53,557 | $203,227 | $808 |
| 60 | Hamilton | 63,468 | 86 | $55,166 | $299,684 | $1,007 |
| 61 | Middletown | 51,617 | 86 | $57,102 | $255,694 | $1,007 |
| 62 | Piqua | 20,646 | 86 | $67,796 | $180,114 | $922 |
| 63 | Painesville | 20,548 | 86 | $51,516 | $222,958 | $1,036 |
| 64 | Bedford | 12,931 | 86 | $57,308 | $152,982 | $1,059 |
| 65 | Sheffield Lake | 8,966 | 86 | $69,632 | $203,339 | $1,054 |
| 66 | Eaton | 8,339 | 86 | $51,467 | $245,408 | $764 |
| 67 | Delphos | 7,143 | 86 | $61,037 | $195,169 | $812 |
| 68 | Moraine | 6,536 | 86 | $48,788 | $160,288 | $1,035 |
| 69 | Martins Ferry | 6,140 | 86 | $37,467 | $96,618 | $800 |
| 70 | Port Clinton | 5,970 | 86 | $60,909 | $272,320 | $934 |
| 71 | Toronto | 5,293 | 86 | $55,972 | $133,234 | $748 |
| 72 | Elyria | 53,035 | 87 | $54,945 | $181,557 | $906 |
| 73 | Maple Heights | 23,258 | 87 | $53,414 | $131,579 | $1,338 |
| 74 | Ashland | 18,911 | 87 | $60,029 | $229,714 | $893 |
| 75 | New Philadelphia | 17,520 | 87 | $58,547 | $204,371 | $897 |
| 76 | Conneaut | 12,357 | 87 | $61,741 | $141,035 | $772 |
| 77 | Franklin | 11,712 | 87 | $58,587 | $263,565 | $981 |
| 78 | North College Hill | 9,555 | 87 | $64,655 | $173,602 | $1,064 |
| 79 | Napoleon | 8,802 | 87 | $76,639 | $209,535 | $819 |
| 80 | Bryan | 8,631 | 87 | $52,865 | $190,323 | $806 |
| 81 | Hubbard | 7,598 | 87 | $62,593 | $164,705 | $799 |
| 82 | Hillsboro | 6,527 | 87 | $55,521 | $207,888 | $770 |
| 83 | Clyde | 6,331 | 87 | $50,574 | $188,838 | $739 |
| 84 | Jackson | 6,231 | 87 | $53,538 | $171,306 | $759 |
| 85 | Rittman | 6,044 | 87 | $60,154 | $199,067 | $814 |
| 86 | Northwood | 5,193 | 87 | $77,268 | $177,941 | $965 |
| 87 | Massillon | 32,338 | 88 | $56,446 | $212,708 | $862 |
| 88 | Sidney | 20,501 | 88 | $60,668 | $210,538 | $869 |
| 89 | Whitehall | 20,019 | 88 | $51,759 | $198,430 | $1,145 |
| 90 | Bellefontaine | 13,807 | 88 | $58,806 | $240,468 | $857 |
| 91 | Englewood | 13,356 | 88 | $80,030 | $234,832 | $953 |
| 92 | Marietta | 13,203 | 88 | $47,873 | $187,373 | $861 |
| 93 | Urbana | 11,204 | 88 | $68,003 | $201,188 | $935 |
| 94 | Celina | 10,903 | 88 | $62,849 | $234,400 | $760 |
| 95 | Logan | 6,993 | 88 | $57,882 | $262,041 | $726 |
| 96 | Mount Healthy | 6,919 | 88 | $54,565 | $190,028 | $1,075 |
| 97 | Belpre | 6,654 | 88 | $54,592 | $185,228 | $867 |
| 98 | Rossford | 6,323 | 88 | $71,199 | $193,165 | $898 |
| 99 | Parma | 79,870 | 89 | $69,295 | $210,914 | $1,087 |
| 100 | Chillicothe | 21,902 | 89 | $54,086 | $196,991 | $887 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, cost-of-living data. 247 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Ohio Affordability Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Ohio for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Ohio.
The cheapest cities in Ohio are Youngstown, East Liverpool, Cleveland, Campbell, Dayton, Warren, Lima, East Cleveland, Fostoria, and Galion.
