Cincinnati vs Dayton leftover
Moving to Dayton costs you $160 a month
$2,552/mo leftover in Dayton vs $2,712 in Cincinnati after tax and rent ($160 less). −$1,920 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Cincinnati leftover
$2,712
a month after tax and rent
Dayton leftover
$2,552
−$160 vs Cincinnati
Compare Cincinnati to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Cincinnati.
Monthly gap
Cincinnati → Dayton
$160
less / month in Cincinnati
$2,552 in Dayton · $2,712 in Cincinnati · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 3,018 households moved Cincinnati → Dayton (avg AGI $55,083). 2,988 went the other way. The whole move →
−$160 / mo
| Per month | Cincinnati | Dayton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $7,181 | −$444 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,864 | $1,712 | −$153 |
| Take-home pay | $5,761 | $5,469 | −$292 |
| Rent | $1,168 | $1,018 | −$150 |
| Getting around | $520 | $540 | +$20 |
| Groceries | $376 | $375 | −$1 |
| Healthcare | $423 | $422 | −$1 |
| Utilities | $235 | $234 | −$1 |
| Everything else | $329 | $328 | −$1 |
| Left over | $2,712 | $2,552 | −$160 |
To break even in Dayton, you'd need to earn
$89,000
Household gross, versus $91,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Cincinnati does now.
The tax difference alone
+$253
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.5% in Cincinnati, 23.8% in Dayton.
More about Dayton
Cincinnati, OH in full
State income tax topping out at 3.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,391 and 201 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
Dayton, OH in full
State income tax topping out at 3.5%, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,212 and 190 sunny days; commutes average 22 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Dayton on Dayton wages.
Dayton → Cincinnati →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Dayton than Cincinnati?
A one-bedroom is about $1,168 in Cincinnati versus $1,018 in Dayton. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $160 a month lower in Dayton. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Dayton have state income tax?
Dayton is in Ohio, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 2.00%.
What changes if you move from Cincinnati to Dayton?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Ohio tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Cincinnati and Dayton moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.