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Affordable, accessible housing is getting harder to find in Ohio; and the "affordable" part is getting a little harder to define. A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio shows a "modest" two-bedroom apartment in the Buckeye State is even further out of reach now than it was a year ago.
Last year, the group estimated a full-time worker would have to make $22.51 an hour to afford to rent at HUD's Fair Market Rent without spending more than 30% of their income, according to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal. This year, that same person would need to earn $23.82 an hour.
There are nearly 1.6 million renter households in Ohio, with the average renter earning $19.59 an hour. In fact, the Capital Journal reports that of the 10 most common jobs in Ohio, only general operations managers and registered nurses are paid more than $23.82 an hour.
Wages are slouching along, while the Housing Wage has increased by 169% over the past six years.
"And it's not just housing. The cost of food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and education is continuing to rise while people working in low wage jobs are getting squeezed," COHHIO Executive Director Amy Riegel said.
Costs are going up, wages are not keeping up, and there is a shortage of approximately 266,000 available, affordable rental units in the state, according to the 2026 Gap Report.
Renee Willis, NLIHC president and CEO, said "To meaningfully address the affordable housing crisis, the federal government must adequately fund housing programs in a way that would expand rental assistance and both preserve and increase the supply of deeply affordable homes for those with the lowest incomes. We have the resources to invest in expanding housing solutions that provide stable homes for the lowest-income people in our country. We just need the political will to do so."
Government (in Columbus and Washington, D.C.) is -- and should be -- limited in the degree to which it can adjust the many pieces that make up our economy. But many programs are already in place and could be improved in a way that -- yes, with adequate funding -- helps ease this stress on Ohio families. Nothing will eliminate the problem entirely.
But lawmakers at all levels must turn their attention to what tools ARE available to them to stop it from continuing to get worse.