Skip to content
ZipNumbers

Hamilton County · Ohio

Cincinnati cost of living (OH)

Price levels published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN, with the national average set to 100 — so 108 means things cost 8% more here than the US average.

Cash, receipts and a calculator on a table, illustrating local cost of living data

Quick answer

Cincinnati costs 4.6% below the national average — all-items price level 95.4, rank 69 of 94 covered metros. A $100,000 national-average salary needs to be $95,370 here. Housing is the reason, at 87.6.

All items
95.4US average = 100
Housing
87.612.4% below the national average
Goods
93.86.2% below the national average
Other services
99.01.0% below the national average

Price level by component

Where the difference actually comes from.

ComponentIndexvs USWhat it covers
Goods93.8-6.2%Groceries, fuel, clothing, durable purchases.
Housing87.6-12.4%Rents and imputed rents — the biggest single swing factor.
Utilities91.0-9.0%Electricity, gas, water and other household energy.
Other services99.0-1.0%Healthcare, dining, repairs, personal services.

What your salary is worth in Cincinnati, OH

Enter a salary. We deflate it by the local price level (95.4 where 100 is the US average) and show what you would need to earn here to match the same pay somewhere average.

Real value here
$53,706
Needed to match US average
$48,848
Monthly difference
$-198

What a local paycheck is really worth

Nominal pay is only half the story.

$51,219 median household income in Cincinnati is worth $53,706 in national-average dollars. BEA calls that real income: income × 100 ÷ 95.4.

Run your own salary through the comparison tool →

Other Cincinnati datasets on this site.

Statewide: Ohio cities · Ohio ZIP codes · Ohio sales tax · Ohio counties

Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities

2024 BEA Regional Price Parities, published for Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN. Parities are metro-wide, so a single neighbourhood can sit well above or below these figures.