What salary do you need to live in Cincinnati, OH?

What housing costs in Cincinnati

Census figures put the median gross rent in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro at $892 for a one-bedroom, $1,148 for a two-bedroom and $1,362 for a three-bedroom. Moving from one to two bedrooms adds $256 a month, and the third bedroom another $214.

Homeowners in Cincinnati report a median home value of $258,600. Against a median household income of $81,120, the ratio is 3.2× — one of the gentler home-price-to-income ratios in the country.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 95.4, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 4.6% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $104,855 would at average US prices.

The salary lines for a two-bedroom in Cincinnati

For two bedrooms, $137,000 is where Cincinnati turns Comfortable. Below that, $69,000 marks the start of Okay and $34,000 the start of Tight; under $34,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 10% of gross pay.

Royal, the top band, starts at $410,000. At that income rent is 3% of pay and the median home 0.6× income.

How they were found: the same scoring function the calculator runs was evaluated at rising incomes until each cutoff was crossed, and the crossing rounded up to a whole $1,000.

Scores at $50K, $75K, $100K and $150K in Cincinnati

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Okay, with scores from 45 to 52.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $150,000 row. One row up, $100,000 scores 56.

Cincinnati on the national list

Ranked against all 387 metros, Cincinnati sits 161st on overall price level and 176th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 197th.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Pittsfield, MA ($1,150) and Grants Pass, OR ($1,144).

Cincinnati in a Ohio context

Statewide, Ohio's median two-bedroom rent is $1,063 and its median home value $214,800. Cincinnati's rent is +8% against that, and its home value +20%; the price parity is 95.4 versus 92.8 for the state. The metro also reaches into Kentucky and Indiana; it is compared with Ohio, home of its first-named principal city.

Run Ohio's statewide medians through the same score and Comfortable begins at $114,000; Cincinnati's line is +20% from that.

If Cincinnati is on your list, Cleveland, OH, Akron, OH, and Columbus, OH are the most similar Ohio metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Cincinnati's median income on the scale

A household at the Cincinnati median income of $81,120 would see a two-bedroom score of 50 — Okay — with rent at 17% of income. Put differently, Cincinnati's typical household is $55,880 below the $137,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. For Ohio as a whole, the median household income of $71,389 scores 52 against statewide rents. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.