Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Cincinnati's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Cincinnati?
Your $100,000 in Cincinnati has the same purchasing power as $108,767 in the average US city. You'd need $8,767 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Cincinnati's cost index of 92, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Cincinnati usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: living costs come in under the us baseline, daily errands don't require a car, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Cincinnati sits at 92 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 8% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $893/mo against a typical household income of $49,191, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Cincinnati earns a Walk Score of 73/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents. Transit Score comes in at 55/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
The average one-way commute in Cincinnati is about 23 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
41% of adults 25 and over in Cincinnati hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Cincinnati's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 26°F, Cincinnati sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Cincinnati averages about 26°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Cincinnati runs about 85°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Cincinnati's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Cincinnati is at about 761 feet (232 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Higher than average. Cincinnati reports about 4,609 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. Cincinnati's cost-of-living index is 92, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Yes — Cincinnati is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 73/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 55 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $64,358 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Cincinnati runs about $893/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.