This section focuses on how Ohio's renters are able to balance housing costs compared to income. When renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, they risk being unable to afford other necessities, such as food and healthcare. Rent burden places people into a precarious position, in which any unexpected cost, such as a car repair, may risk their housing stability.
Section Highlights
- Adjusted for inflation, median gross rent in Ohio increased by 9% from $733 per month in 2012 to $797 per month in 2018.
- The increase in income for the 80th percentile of Ohioans since 2006 has outpaced the increase in rent over that period, while the income level at the 20th percentile has lagged since 2008.
- For every 100 extremely low-income renters in Ohio, there were only 44 rental units affordable and available to them in 2018.
- Ohio's affordable housing gap has been gradually shrinking, but at the current net annual rate of around 5,000 units built or made available for the lowest-income renters, it will take almost 50 years to close that gap.
- One-in-three Black renters in Ohio (33%) were severely rent burdened in 2018, compared to one-in-five white renters (22%).
Jump to: Rent | Shortage of Affordable Rental Housing | Severe Rent Burden
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Rent
Median Monthly Gross Rent
Source: American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates, Table B25064
Change in Median Rent & Selected Income Levels
Source: American Community Survey (ACS) One-Year Estimates, Tables B19080 & B25064
Median Monthly Gross Rent by Year Structure Built
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25036 & B25111
Median Monthly Gross Rent
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2018 ACS One-Year Estimates, Tables B25003 & B25064
Change in Median Gross Rent
Source: American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, ACS One-Year Estimates, Table B25064
Gross Rent as Share of Income
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, 2018 ACS One-Year Estimates, Tables B25064 & B25071
Shortage of Affordable Rental Housing
Affordable & Available Ratio, U.S. & Ohio, by Income
Source: The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Shortage of Affordable & Available Units by Income
Source: The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Affordable & Available Ratio by Income & Bedrooms
Source: IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (based on 2014–2018 five-year estimates); 2018 Income Limits, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); ); The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Affordable & Available Ratio by Income & Region
Source: IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (based on 2014–2018 five-year estimates); 2018 Income Limits, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Affordable & Available Ratio for ELI Renters
Source: IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (based on 2014–2018 five-year estimates); 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Tables 14B and 15C; 2018 Income Limits, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Affordable & Available Ratio for VLI Renters
Source: IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (based on 2014–2018 five-year estimates); 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Tables 14B and 15C; 2018 Income Limits, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Affordable & Available Ratio by Income & Typology
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, Tables 14B and 15C; ); The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, March 2020, National Low Income Housing Coalition (based on 2018 data)
Severe Rent Burden
Severe Rent Burden in the U.S. & Ohio
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25070 & B25106
Severe Rent Burden by Age
Source: IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota (based on 2018 data)
Severe Rent Burden by Race & Ethnicity
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Study (CHAS) data, Table 9
Severe Rent Burden by Region
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25070 & B25106
Severe Rent Burden
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25070 & B25106
Severe Rent Burden by Typology
Source: 2014–2018 American Community Survey (ACS) Five-Year Estimates, Tables B25070 & B25106
Severe Rent Burden Gap, Black & White, by Region
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Study (CHAS) data, Table 9
Severe Rent Burden Gap, Black & White, by Typology
Source: 2012–2016 Comprehensive Housing Affordability Study (CHAS) data, Table 9
Downloadable Tables
- Rental Housing Tables (92 KB Excel File)
Related Reports
- Fiscal Year 2019 Housing Needs Assessment (20.21 MB Adobe PDF File)
- Ohio Housing Finance Agency 2019 Annual Report (7.86 MB Adobe PDF File)
Notes
Gross rent includes average monthly cost of utilities (i.e., electricity, natural gas, water, sewer, and heating fuels).
Extremely low-income (ELI) is defined as those with incomes at or below the federal poverty level or 30% of area median income, whichever is greater. Very low-income (VLI) is defined as those with incomes at or below 50% of area median income, including ELI households. Affordability is based on the common standard that households should not spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Rental units are both "affordable and available" to renters in a specific income group if the gross rent meets the 30% affordability threshold and they are either available for rent or occupied by households with incomes at or below the defined income level. Statewide estimates are from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. County estimates for counties with more than 38,000 households are based on 2014–2018 ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)–calculated using a geographic correspondence file from the Missouri Census Data Center at the University of Missouri to "crosswalk" the data from Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) to counties–and 2018 Income Limits from HUD. County estimates for counties with less than 38,000 households are based on 2012–2016 CHAS data, also from HUD.
Severe rent burden is defined as a renter household spending at least 50 percent of household income on gross rent or having no income.
Inflationary adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for "all items less shelter."
Ohio Regions are defined at the county level by TourismOhio, part of the Ohio Development Services Agency.
Typologies are defined at the census tract level in the OHFA 2018–2019 USR Opportunity Index by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. They are based on a combination of road network density, housing density, population density and age of housing.
Data Sources
- National Low Income Housing Coalition, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes
- Ohio Development Services Agency, TourismOhio, Ohio Regions
- Ohio State University, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, OHFA USR Opportunity Index
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey (ACS)
- U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, American Housing Survey
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD User, Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy Data
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD User, Income Limits
- U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index
- University of Minnesota, IPUMS USA
- University of Missouri, Missouri Census Data Center, Geocorr Applications