The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio In 2024


The most affordable places to live in Ohio for 2024 are Galion, Youngstown, and Wellston according to Saturday Night Science.

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.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary


The 10 most affordable places to live in Ohio

  1. Galion
  2. Youngstown
  3. Wellston
  4. Cambridge
  5. Shelby
  6. Cleveland
  7. Mansfield
  8. Whitehall
  9. Ashland
  10. Greenville

Most Affordable Cities In Ohio Map

What is the most affordable place to live in Ohio? The most affordable place to live in Ohio is Galion after crunching data from the US Census in terms of median housing costs, median income, and overall cost of living for cities with over 5,000 residents.

So grab some Skyline Chili and a cold Yuengling, and read on to learn more about Ohio’s cheapest places to live.

Check out some more reading about Ohio and the cheapest places in the country:

The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio For 2024

Galion, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 10,378
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 76
Median Income: $44,458
Median Home Price: $144,629
Median Rent: $762

Galion, Ohio’s cheapest city, has a competitive $144,629 average home price and a cost of living index at 76. Located at the junction of Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties, this city of 10,378 people has an average rent of $762.

Galion’s blend of low expenses and community events like Oktoberfest offers residents cost-conscious camaraderie.

More on Galion: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Youngstown, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Blue80 | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 60,048
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 77
Median Income: $34,295
Median Home Price: $52,826
Median Rent: $711

Youngstown, halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh in Northeast Ohio, ranks as the second cheapest city in Ohio. With an average home price of $52,826, the cost of living index comes in at 77.

Affordable things to do in Youngstown include Mill Creek Wick Recreation Area and Wick Park to fill up a weekend.

More on Youngstown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Youngstown by HomeSnacks User

I’ve lived in youngstown or it’s suburbs all my life. I am happy with youngstown but is it just I do not know a different way or is there problems any place you go.

Home is what we made it along with many of success stories came from youngstown also.

Wellston, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,420
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 78
Median Income: $51,597
Median Home Price: $91,085
Median Rent: $708

Wellston, a small city located in southeastern Ohio, is a great option for those looking for an affordable place to call home. With a median home value of $91,085 and median rent of $708, the cost of living in Wellston is well below the national average.

Wellston still offers its residents plenty of amenities and attractions like Route 327 Ball Field. The city is home to several parks and outdoor recreational areas, making it a great spot for nature lovers. Additionally, Wellston’s close proximity to major highways and cities like Columbus and Cincinnati make it an ideal location for commuters.

More on Wellston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cambridge, OH

Source: Wikipedia User The original uploader was Willjay at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,087
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 79
Median Income: $39,589
Median Home Price: $104,099
Median Rent: $739

An hour and change east of Columbus, Cambridge placed fourth on our list of the cheapest cities in Ohio. You can save more of the city’s average $39,589 income because the cost of living index is 13.2% cheaper than the state average.

Cambridge might not be as famous as the university in England, but Cambridge, OH, is close to Salt Fork State Park for a free afternoon hike.

More on Cambridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Shelby, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 8,360
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 79
Median Income: $55,355
Median Home Price: $160,048
Median Rent: $723

If you’re looking for an affordable place to call home in Ohio, look no further than Shelby. With a median home value of just $160,048 and median rent of $723, living costs are significantly lower compared to other cities in the state.

Shelby is a great place to live. The city boasts a population of 8,360 and a low unemployment rate of 3.16%, meaning there are plenty of job opportunities available. Plus, you can enjoy outdoor activities at Black Fork Commons, which offers amenities like an amphitheater, pavilion, and a walking path. McBride Park is another option with a playground and a Little League Baseball Complex.

More on Shelby: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cleveland, OH

Source: Flickr User Tim Evanson | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 370,365
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $37,271
Median Home Price: $100,343
Median Rent: $851

It’s always great to see a major city on the list of the most affordable, and Cleveland takes the sixth spot in Ohio. Cleveland offers a ton of economic opportunities mixed with affordable home prices. According to Zillow, the average home price is the ninth lowest in the state at $100,343.

Free things to do in the city include the Cleveland Museum of Art, Public Square, and Edgewater Beach.

More on Cleveland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Cleveland by HomeSnacks User

I have lived in Cleveland, OH for five years now and I enjoy the many attractions there are including sporting events, downtown, variety of food places, and the night scene.

Downtown Cleveland, University Circle, and Little Italy are my top 3 favorite places in Cleveland. The things I do not like about Cleveland are the brutal winters due to the lake effect and crime rate in certain areas.

Mansfield, OH

Source: Wikipedia User John Siegenthaler | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 47,630
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $40,996
Median Home Price: $125,649
Median Rent: $733

Mansfield has a $125,649 average home price and a $40,996 income, which leads to a price-to-income ratio of 3.06. A manageable 80 overall cost of living index is 11 points lower than the state average. The overall cost of living index includes low index values for utilities, services, and healthcare.

Mansfield is located halfway between Cleveland and Columbus.

More on Mansfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Whitehall, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 20,035
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $47,879
Median Home Price: $180,015
Median Rent: $1,029

Whitehall, a suburb of Columbus in Franklin County, ranked eighth for affordability in Ohio. It has as the #86.0 cheapest median home price statewide. With an overall cost of living index at 80, the 20,035 residents save 12.1% relative to the Ohio average on groceries, services, and utilities.

Fun things to do in Whitehall include Big Walnut Park and the Whitehall Community Park YMCA.

More on Whitehall: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Ashland, OH

Source: Wikipedia User User:OHWiki | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 19,270
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $56,040
Median Home Price: $163,698
Median Rent: $817

Ashland, the ninth most affordable city in Ohio, is situated between Cleveland and Columbus. It offers a cost of living 12.1% below the national and state average. A $163,698 average home price makes it an accessible housing market. The $817 median rent meshes well with a $56,040 average income.

The town has Brookside West Park and Aerohio Skydiving for local fun.

More on Ashland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Greenville, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,768
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $45,746
Median Home Price: $150,215
Median Rent: $668

You’ll save green in Greenville, the tenth cheapest city in Ohio. A Dayton suburb, Greenville has an overall cost of living of 80 supported by a home price of $150,215 and a $668. The town has low costs of living for utilities, services, and healthcare.

You can take advantage of Greenville City Park in town and short day trips to Indianapolis and Dayton for more things to do.

More on Greenville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cheapest places to live in Ohio FAQs

The county in Ohio with the lowest cost of living is Gallia County. The average living wage in Gallia County is $80,340 according to MIT data. Gallia County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Ohio as a whole. Childcare costs $12,687 a year in Gallia County for two children compared to the Ohio average of $19,242. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $8,808 per year in Gallia County compared to $10,291 on average in Ohio.

The cost of living in Ohio is 0.3% lower than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Ohio is $89,500 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Ohio household is $58,116.

The cheapest housing market in Ohio is Youngstown. The average home value in Youngstown is $46,900, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Ohio is $151,400, almost 3.2 times higher than Youngstown.

Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Buckeye State for 2024

Map Of The Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio
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 2018-2022 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 253 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 Galion.

We updated this article for 2024. This report reflects our tenth time ranking the cheapest places to live in Ohio.

Ohio Affordabilility Summary

This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Ohio for 2024, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Ohio.

The cheapest cities in Ohio are Galion, Youngstown, Wellston, Cambridge, Shelby, Cleveland, Mansfield, Whitehall, Ashland, and Greenville.

Here’s a look at the most expensive cities in Ohio according to the data:

  1. The Village of Indian Hill
  2. New Albany
  3. Pepper Pike

For more Ohio reading, check out:

Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio

Rank City Population Cost Of Living Index Median Income Home Prices Rent
1 Galion 10,378 76 $44,458 $144,629 $762
2 Youngstown 60,048 77 $34,295 $52,826 $711
3 Wellston 5,420 78 $51,597 $91,085 $708
4 Cambridge 10,087 79 $39,589 $104,099 $739
5 Shelby 8,360 79 $55,355 $160,048 $723
6 Cleveland 370,365 80 $37,271 $100,343 $851
7 Mansfield 47,630 80 $40,996 $125,649 $733
8 Whitehall 20,035 80 $47,879 $180,015 $1,029
9 Ashland 19,270 80 $56,040 $163,698 $817
10 Greenville 12,768 80 $45,746 $150,215 $668
11 Akron 190,273 81 $46,596 $115,235 $887
12 Dayton 137,305 81 $41,443 $110,664 $830
13 Marion 35,927 81 $44,879 $115,335 $842
14 Barberton 25,167 81 $49,289 $132,446 $766
15 Sandusky 24,964 81 $47,375 $127,796 $855
16 Zanesville 24,772 81 $40,927 $172,158 $777
17 Niles 18,107 81 $48,860 $112,455 $759
18 Fostoria 12,904 81 $53,145 $100,624 $729
19 Bucyrus 11,643 81 $49,021 $140,263 $711
20 Kenton 7,685 81 $46,809 $155,535 $718
21 Jackson 6,222 81 $51,864 $155,178 $796
22 Willard 6,189 81 $51,846 $136,776 $837
23 Uhrichsville 5,238 81 $42,155 $123,521 $834
24 Canton 70,589 82 $37,627 $149,414 $793
25 Warren 39,204 82 $33,296 $90,619 $734
26 Alliance 21,603 82 $51,721 $144,229 $773
27 Washington Court House 14,387 82 $51,601 $181,192 $740
28 East Cleveland 13,926 82 $23,004 $46,242 $721
29 Coshocton 11,054 82 $47,184 $137,158 $696
30 Struthers 10,061 82 $48,125 $111,655 $830
31 Eaton 8,360 82 $54,860 $213,970 $770
32 Campbell 7,819 82 $43,176 $85,264 $709
33 Garfield Heights 29,497 83 $49,864 $119,737 $1,046
34 Maple Heights 23,473 83 $49,877 $112,147 $1,208
35 Piqua 20,441 83 $55,379 $136,582 $887
36 Girard 9,565 83 $43,504 $125,516 $721
37 Logan 7,168 83 $46,762 $220,532 $746
38 Ada 5,088 83 $55,749 $196,467 $807
39 Riverside 24,482 84 $56,232 $147,937 $943
40 Ashtabula 18,003 84 $39,053 $129,316 $785
41 East Liverpool 9,969 84 $34,560 $97,552 $663
42 Napoleon 8,888 84 $59,414 $183,089 $868
43 Bryan 8,670 84 $51,415 $175,007 $781
44 Bellevue 8,210 84 $55,770 $161,407 $770
45 Hubbard 7,618 84 $61,064 $149,517 $818
46 Delphos 7,153 84 $59,000 $174,637 $844
47 Port Clinton 6,024 84 $55,534 $252,815 $761
48 Obetz 5,580 84 $77,171 $240,635 $1,167
49 Toledo 269,962 85 $45,405 $114,512 $854
50 Lorain 65,138 85 $46,562 $127,413 $832
51 Euclid 49,279 85 $45,018 $129,092 $931
52 Lima 35,555 85 $41,824 $130,076 $811
53 Trotwood 23,125 85 $46,442 $115,023 $898
54 Chillicothe 22,002 85 $50,839 $185,408 $830
55 Norwalk 17,041 85 $58,311 $176,444 $781
56 Mount Vernon 16,861 85 $52,286 $219,414 $852
57 Fremont 15,900 85 $48,252 $157,204 $745
58 Circleville 14,017 85 $51,830 $204,112 $853
59 Warrensville Heights 13,659 85 $43,848 $114,360 $936
60 Salem 11,861 85 $45,380 $165,214 $779
61 Ironton 10,597 85 $43,702 $102,070 $729
62 Orrville 8,304 85 $67,388 $229,110 $847
63 Upper Sandusky 6,537 85 $61,444 $166,406 $723
64 Springfield 58,645 86 $45,113 $162,148 $787
65 Middletown 50,514 86 $50,457 $175,340 $919
66 Newark 50,062 86 $56,284 $215,536 $882
67 Massillon 32,179 86 $53,699 $189,106 $778
68 Tiffin 17,894 86 $48,869 $167,124 $801
69 New Philadelphia 17,602 86 $55,590 $181,315 $810
70 Dover 13,118 86 $62,558 $202,856 $997
71 Conneaut 12,372 86 $55,708 $127,086 $738
72 Franklin 11,672 86 $52,966 $208,163 $899
73 Urbana 11,156 86 $62,628 $174,663 $845
74 Celina 10,974 86 $60,060 $176,625 $801
75 Bedford Heights 10,933 86 $47,528 $169,165 $917
76 Van Wert 10,828 86 $51,412 $156,850 $750
77 Moraine 6,484 86 $40,793 $141,385 $873
78 Geneva 5,935 86 $47,401 $185,479 $832
79 Elyria 52,780 87 $49,569 $158,172 $835
80 Fairborn 34,494 87 $53,783 $178,298 $937
81 Wooster 27,021 87 $61,608 $247,514 $855
82 South Euclid 21,754 87 $75,933 $158,310 $1,215
83 Portsmouth 18,130 87 $36,051 $72,078 $704
84 Defiance 16,852 87 $58,750 $169,196 $809
85 Marietta 13,366 87 $44,401 $183,370 $781
86 Bedford 13,043 87 $55,198 $139,045 $1,019
87 Ravenna 11,323 87 $48,221 $185,128 $870
88 Brooklyn 11,259 87 $59,875 $172,924 $940
89 London 10,316 87 $58,040 $246,284 $840
90 Wapakoneta 9,879 87 $63,008 $200,907 $785
91 North College Hill 9,602 87 $51,971 $132,501 $1,023
92 St. Marys 8,323 87 $70,800 $172,267 $783
93 Belpre 6,690 87 $47,474 $175,840 $797
94 Ontario 6,642 87 $62,313 $202,490 $1,013
95 Martins Ferry 6,283 87 $39,195 $90,353 $760
96 Rittman 6,058 87 $61,331 $186,301 $744
97 Groveport 5,928 87 $85,230 $290,309 $1,039
98 New Carlisle 5,579 87 $56,744 $218,232 $770
99 Columbus 902,449 88 $62,994 $237,662 $1,161
100 Kettering 57,707 88 $69,818 $218,052 $942
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.