What is the cost of living in Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek?

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 72.7, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,273/month.

What is the median salary in Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek?

The median salary in Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek is $68,046 annually (mean: $71,733). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers.

How safe is Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek?

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

What are the schools like in Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek?

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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek?

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

Is Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek a good place to relocate?

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek has a Life Score of 54.5/100 (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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek ranks #200 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

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH

BEA RPP 92.7 sits mid-pack (#166 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,273
2BR rent / mo: $68,046
Median salary: 51
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek ranks #200 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (51/100), with its strongest marks in job market and safety.

#200
of 387 US metros · Near median: 11,883,304
metro-area population: 293
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,586
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: schools (18/100). 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), Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek ranks #200 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,273/mo, median salary $68,046; LiveAbility Score 51/100, strongest in job market and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 92.7 sits mid-pack (#166 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,273/mo.

LiveAbility 51/100 keeps Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek in the middle third (#200 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek area is 365,260.

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek 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)

51 Top 52% higher than 48% 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

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek MSA; housing RPP 72.7 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,273/mo.

Studio

$928

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,009

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,273

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,651

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,817

/month

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek wages and employment

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek posts 365,260 total employment with median salary $68,046.

Median Salary

$68,046

Mean Salary

$71,733

Total Employment

365,260

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$27,680
Registered Nurses	$82,510
General and Operations Managers	$98,030
Retail Salespersons	$30,360
Stockers and Order Fillers	$36,750

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek 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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,791

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,686

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,394

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek's composite Life Score is 54.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

57/100

Above average

Wages

73/100

Strong

Rent

53/100

Average

Crime

58/100

Above average

Schools

82/100

Elite

Childcare

32/100

Weak

Environment

5/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek ranks #200 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 51/100 - 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: Job market (73/100)

Job market

73
Safety

58
Cost of living

57
Housing

53
Low hazard

52
Climate

29
Schools

18

What this shows Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek's strongest dimensions are job market and safety; its weakest among scored dims is schools at 18/100. 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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek to

Santa Fe Santa Maria-Santa Barbara Santa Rosa-Petaluma Savannah Scranton--Wilkes-Barre Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue

Metros near Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek 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

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek 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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek?

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek runs a $68,046 median salary at a 92.7 cost index, ranking #200 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

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