What is the cost of living in Cleveland?

Cleveland has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 79.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,037/month.

What is the median salary in Cleveland?

The median salary in Cleveland is $67,639 annually (mean: $71,069). Top occupations include General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Cleveland?

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

What are the schools like in Cleveland?

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 Cleveland?

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

Is Cleveland a good place to relocate?

Cleveland has a Life Score of 56.8/100 (C-), 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 an above-average score, Cleveland outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Cleveland sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Cleveland ranks #166 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

Cleveland, OH

LiveAbility 53.1/100 places Cleveland #166 of 387 (middle third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,037
2BR rent / mo: $67,639
Median salary: 53.1
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Cleveland ranks #166 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (53.1/100), with its strongest marks in housing and job market.

#166
of 387 US metros · Above median: 11,883,304
metro-area population: 293
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,586
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (15/100). 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), Cleveland ranks #166 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,037/mo, median salary $67,639; LiveAbility Score 53.1/100, strongest in housing and job market.

Signature: LiveAbility 53.1/100 places Cleveland #166 of 387 (middle third).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,037/mo.

LiveAbility 53.1/100 keeps Cleveland in the middle third (#166 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Cleveland area is 1,014,330.

Cleveland 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)

53 Top 43% higher than 57% 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

Cleveland housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Cleveland MSA; housing RPP 79.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,037/mo.

Studio

$715

/month

1 Bedroom

$840

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,037

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,257

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,429

/month

Cleveland wages and employment

Cleveland posts 1,014,330 total employment with median salary $67,639.

Median Salary

$67,639

Mean Salary

$71,069

Total Employment

1,014,330

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
General and Operations Managers	$97,750
Registered Nurses	$83,940
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,750
Retail Salespersons	$31,000
Stockers and Order Fillers	$36,290

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Cleveland 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 Cleveland area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,791

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,686

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,394

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Cleveland's composite Life Score is 56.8/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

47/100

Average

Wages

67/100

Strong

Rent

90/100

Elite

Crime

59/100

Above average

Schools

81/100

Elite

Childcare

32/100

Weak

Environment

4/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Cleveland ranks #166 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 53.1/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (90/100)

Housing

90
Job market

67
Safety

59
Low hazard

52
Cost of living

47
Schools

19
Climate

15

What this shows Cleveland's strongest dimensions are housing and job market; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 15/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Cleveland to

Kenosha Killeen-Temple Kingsport-Bristol Kingston Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh Knoxville

Metros near Cleveland on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Cleveland 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

Cleveland cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Cleveland 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 Cleveland?

Cleveland runs a $67,639 median salary at a 93.9 cost index, ranking #166 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Cleveland's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Cleveland head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Cleveland
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.