by J.D. Davidson
Full-time workers in Ohio need to make nearly $21 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in the state, according to a new report highlighting the gap between rent and wages.
The 2024 Out of Reach Ohio report details what the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing and Ohio calls a significant gap between renters’ income and the cost of rent.
A gap the group says continues to grow.
Amy Riegel, executive director of the organization, said, “Wages for Ohio’s most common jobs have increased significantly since the pandemic. Employers are trying to keep pace with inflation, but the skyrocketing cost of rent has effectively erased these wage gains, pushing affordable homes out of reach for a large swath of Ohio’s workforce.”
Of the 10 jobs in Ohio with the most employees, only two earn more than $20.81 per hour wage. Those two are general operations managers and registered nurses.
In some areas of the state, the needed wage is much higher. In Columbus, a person would need to earn more than $25 an hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment. In Cincinnati, they would need to earn nearly $23 per hour.
“Aging Ohioans and people with disabilities living on a fixed income are especially vulnerable to rent shock,” Riegel said, adding Social Security payments have increased only minimally in recent years. “Ohioans who worked hard for 40 years or more should be enjoying their golden years. Instead, many are rationing medications and wondering how they’re going to feed themselves and pay the rent.”
Ohio’s second-most popular job, fast food worker, earns a median hourly wage of $13.16. The rest of the state’s top 10 jobs with the most employees – stockers, cashiers, retail salesperson, laborers, customer service representatives, assemblers and home health aide – earn less than $20 per hour.
According to the report, Ohio landlords filed nearly 108,00 evictions in 2023, more than any year since 2015. At the same time, homelessness in the state grew by 7%.
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An Ohio native, J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square.
