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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 6 cities in Ohio: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Cleveland — index 78 — worth pausing on — , 3.5% state tax — leads.
#1 Ranked: Cleveland — cost index 78, rent $1,344/mo, income $39,187
Cleveland rent up 5% over the past year
Veteran scoring: cost index 78, state tax 3.5%, healthcare index 96 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 6 cities in Ohio: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Cleveland — index 78 — worth pausing on — , 3.5% state tax — leads.
So, Cleveland. And generally speaking, cost index of 78, rent at $1,344/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $39,187, which is below the national median. That's about what we'd expect given the state context.
This looks affordable — until you factor in healthcare. In Cleveland, the healthcare index sits at 96 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
362,656 residents · Ohio
What does daily life actually cost in Cleveland? Start with the 41% rent-to-income ratio — stretched, especially for single earners. And with some exceptions, on the category level, Housing (index 78) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 96) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $39,187 and homes at $113,669 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons (we double-checked this one).
311,097 residents · Ohio
Dive into Cincinnati's numbers: cost index 83 (28 points below national average), rent $1,425/month, income $51,707, and a home price of $244,309. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 83, while Healthcare runs 97. With 311,097 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
265,304 residents · Ohio
Toledo earns its position at #3 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 62 cost index sits 49 points below the national baseline, and the $47,532 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $126,270 — $341,100 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 62, while Healthcare trails at 92.
201,877 residents · Ohio
What does daily life actually cost in Columbus? Start with the 26% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. On the category level, Housing (index 83) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 97) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $65,327 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — and homes at $243,005 round out a profile that ranks #4 for clear reasons.
188,701 residents · Ohio
Why Akron ranks #5: the numbers tell a clear story. And as far as the data shows, at 66 on the cost index, residents save roughly 45% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,134/month while the median household pulls in $48,544/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 66, though Healthcare (93) lags behind. Home prices average $134,376 — $332,994 below the national median.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to military veterans. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Ohio by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Cleveland ranks #1 in Ohio for this analysis with a cost index of 78 and median income of $39,187.
Cleveland scores highest for military veterans due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,344/mo, and competitive median income of $39,187.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Cleveland (ranked #1) has a cost index of 78 and rent of $1,344/mo, while Dayton (ranked #6) has a cost index of 69 and rent of $1,186/mo — a 9-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Cleveland is $1,344/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $551 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Cleveland is $113,669, which is 2.9× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Ohio has a 3.5% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.24%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.36%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.