What is the cost of living in Cincinnati?

Cincinnati has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 95.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 87.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,353/month.

What is the median salary in Cincinnati?

The median salary in Cincinnati is $71,458 annually (mean: $75,017). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Cincinnati?

The violent crime rate in the Cincinnati area is 293 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1545 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Cincinnati?

The state of OH has 3,586 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 18.2:1. Charter schools make up 9.3% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Cincinnati?

Infant center-based childcare in the Cincinnati area averages $11,791 per year. Preschool averages $9,394/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Cincinnati a good place to relocate?

Cincinnati has a Life Score of 49.7/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Cincinnati sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Cincinnati ranks #294 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

LiveAbility 43.8/100 places Cincinnati #294 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

95.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,353
2BR rent / mo: $71,458
Median salary: 43.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Cincinnati ranks #294 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (43.8/100), with its strongest marks in job market and safety.

#294
of 387 US metros · Below median: 11,883,304
metro-area population: 293
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,586
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (10/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Cincinnati ranks #294 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 95.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,353/mo, median salary $71,458; LiveAbility Score 43.8/100, strongest in job market and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 43.8/100 places Cincinnati #294 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 95.4 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,353/mo.

LiveAbility 43.8/100 puts Cincinnati in the bottom third (#294 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Cincinnati area is 1,092,010.

Cincinnati vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

44 Top 76% higher than 24% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Cincinnati housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Cincinnati MSA; housing RPP 87.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,353/mo.

Studio

$958

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,051

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,353

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,785

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,976

/month

Cincinnati wages and employment

Cincinnati posts 1,092,010 total employment with median salary $71,458.

Median Salary

$71,458

Mean Salary

$75,017

Total Employment

1,092,010

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,720
General and Operations Managers	$100,670
Retail Salespersons	$30,810
Registered Nurses	$83,650
Stockers and Order Fillers	$37,810

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Cincinnati area from NCES.

Schools

3,586

Enrollment

1,675,943

Student:Teacher

18.2:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Cincinnati area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,791

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,686

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,394

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Cincinnati's composite Life Score is 49.7/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

41/100

Below average

Wages

72/100

Strong

Rent

43/100

Below average

Crime

59/100

Above average

Schools

81/100

Elite

Childcare

33/100

Weak

Environment

4/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Cincinnati ranks #294 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 43.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (72/100)

Job market

72
Safety

59
Low hazard

52
Housing

43
Climate

43
Cost of living

42
Schools

19
Air quality

10

What this shows Cincinnati's strongest dimensions are job market and safety; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 10/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Cincinnati to

Gainesville Gettysburg Glens Falls Goldsboro Grand Forks Grand Island

Metros near Cincinnati on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Cincinnati on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Cincinnati cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Cincinnati wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Cincinnati?

Cincinnati runs a $71,458 median salary at a 95.4 cost index, ranking #294 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Cincinnati's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Cincinnati head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Cincinnati
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.