Cleveland vs Cincinnati leftover
You'd keep $31 more a month in Cincinnati
$2,718/mo leftover in Cincinnati vs $2,687 in Cleveland after tax and rent ($31 more). +$372 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Cleveland leftover
$2,687
a month after tax and rent
Cincinnati leftover
$2,718
+$31 vs Cleveland
Compare Cleveland to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Cleveland.
Monthly gap
Cleveland → Cincinnati
$31
more / month in Cincinnati
$2,718 in Cincinnati · $2,687 in Cleveland · 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, 467 households moved Cleveland → Cincinnati (avg AGI $61,480). 354 went the other way. The whole move →
+$31 / mo
| Per month | Cleveland | Cincinnati | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,417 | $7,635 | +$219 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,830 | $1,868 | +$38 |
| Take-home pay | $5,587 | $5,767 | +$180 |
| Rent | $1,065 | $1,168 | +$103 |
| Getting around | $515 | $520 | +$5 |
| Groceries | $364 | $376 | +$12 |
| Healthcare | $410 | $423 | +$13 |
| Utilities | $228 | $235 | +$7 |
| Everything else | $319 | $329 | +$10 |
| Left over | $2,687 | $2,718 | +$31 |
To break even in Cincinnati, you'd need to earn
$91,000
Household gross, versus $89,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Cleveland does now.
The tax difference alone
+$320
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.7% in Cleveland, 24.5% in Cincinnati.
More about Cincinnati
Cleveland, OH in full
World-class hospitals and an orchestra, at the lowest rents of any large metro.
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.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Cincinnati on Cincinnati wages.
Cincinnati → Cleveland →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Cincinnati than Cleveland?
A one-bedroom is about $1,065 in Cleveland versus $1,168 in Cincinnati. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $31 a month higher in Cincinnati. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Cincinnati have state income tax?
Cincinnati is in Ohio, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 2.00%.
What changes if you move from Cleveland to Cincinnati?
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 Cleveland and Cincinnati 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.