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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. And as a general rule, standard stuff, really. We ranked 6 cities in Ohio for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Toledo leads: rent $1,060/mo, index 62, population 265,304.
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. And as a general rule, standard stuff, really. We ranked 6 cities in Ohio for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Toledo leads: rent $1,060/mo, index 62, population 265,304.
Look, the #1 spot goes to Toledo, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,060/month — saving renters $10,020 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Housing is the standout at index 62, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 92. A 27% rent-to-income ratio keeps most households inside the safe zone.
It checks most boxes — but the healthcare costs are the asterisk. In Toledo, the healthcare index sits at 92 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
Frankly, What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers. An outlier in the best sense.
#1 Ranked: Toledo — cost index 62, rent $1,060/mo, income $47,532
Toledo rent up 5% over the past year
Singles scoring: rent $1,060/mo (solo housing), cost index 62, population 265,304 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
265,304 residents · Ohio
At $1,060/month for rent and a cost index of 62, Toledo is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $47,532. Standard stuff, really.
188,701 residents · Ohio
Dive into Akron's numbers: cost index 66 (45 points below national average), rent $1,134/month, income $48,544, and a home price of $134,376. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 66, while Healthcare runs 93. With 188,701 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
135,512 residents · Ohio
So, Dayton. That's about what we'd expect given the state context. Cost index of 69, rent at $1,186/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $43,454, which is below the national median. Moving on (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
362,656 residents · Ohio
Look, Why Cleveland ranks #4: the numbers tell a clear story. That's more or less in line with the region. At 78 on the cost index, residents save roughly 33% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,344/month while the median household pulls in $39,187/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 78, though Healthcare (96) lags behind. Home prices average $113,669 — $353,701 below the national median.
311,097 residents · Ohio
At $1,425/month for rent and a cost index of 83, Cincinnati is pretty much what you'd expect from a mid-size city in this part of the country. Income is $51,707. It's fine. Not great, not bad (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Toledo ranks #1 in Ohio for this analysis with a cost index of 62 and median income of $47,532.
Toledo scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,060/mo, and competitive median income of $47,532.
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.
Toledo (ranked #1) has a cost index of 62 and rent of $1,060/mo, while Columbus (ranked #6) has a cost index of 83 and rent of $1,415/mo — a 21-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 Toledo is $1,060/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $835 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Toledo is $126,270, which is 2.7× 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.