City cost of living 2026

Cost of living in Akron, OH

The Akron, OH metro area (702,209 people) ranks #112 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.

New York, NY: price level 112.6Los Angeles, CA: price level 113.6Chicago, IL: price level 103.6Dallas, TX: price level 103.1Houston, TX: price level 98.6Miami, FL: price level 114.2Washington, D.C.: price level 108.9Atlanta, GA: price level 100.1Philadelphia, PA: price level 102.6Phoenix, AZ: price level 103.3Boston, MA: price level 108.3Riverside, CA: price level 106.4San Francisco, CA: price level 115.6Detroit, MI: price level 100.3Seattle, WA: price level 111.1Minneapolis, MN: price level 104.8Tampa, FL: price level 100.9San Diego, CA: price level 111.9Denver, CO: price level 105.8Orlando, FL: price level 101.4Charlotte, NC: price level 97.3Baltimore, MD: price level 104.5St. Louis, MO: price level 95.1San Antonio, TX: price level 94.7Austin, TX: price level 98.1Portland, OR: price level 105.4Sacramento, CA: price level 106.7Pittsburgh, PA: price level 94.7Las Vegas, NV: price level 100.2Cincinnati, OH: price level 95.4Kansas City, MO: price level 92.5Columbus, OH: price level 95.5Indianapolis, IN: price level 95.7Cleveland, OH: price level 93.9Nashville, TN: price level 96.3San Jose, CA: price level 110.4Virginia Beach, VA: price level 97.9Jacksonville, FL: price level 99.5Providence, RI: price level 101.8Milwaukee, WI: price level 96.9Raleigh, NC: price level 98.2Oklahoma City, OK: price level 90.4Louisville, KY: price level 93.1Richmond, VA: price level 97.9Memphis, TN: price level 92.2Salt Lake City, UT: price level 100.9Birmingham, AL: price level 91.6Fresno, CA: price level 102.2Grand Rapids, MI: price level 95.5Hartford, CT: price level 102.7Buffalo, NY: price level 95.8Tucson, AZ: price level 96.9Tulsa, OK: price level 89.2Rochester, NY: price level 97.0Omaha, NE: price level 91.9Honolulu, HI: price level 111.0Greenville, SC: price level 93.3Bridgeport, CT: price level 106.9New Orleans, LA: price level 92.6Knoxville, TN: price level 92.6Sarasota, FL: price level 102.4Albuquerque, NM: price level 95.5Bakersfield, CA: price level 100.9McAllen, TX: price level 85.9Albany, NY: price level 99.6Allentown, PA: price level 100.0Baton Rouge, LA: price level 90.8Worcester, MA: price level 102.5El Paso, TX: price level 89.9Columbia, SC: price level 93.7Charleston, SC: price level 101.0Cape Coral, FL: price level 102.3Lakeland, FL: price level 97.1Boise, ID: price level 98.4Oxnard, CA: price level 110.5Dayton, OH: price level 92.7Stockton, CA: price level 105.1Greensboro, NC: price level 92.9Colorado Springs, CO: price level 100.7Little Rock, AR: price level 89.4Provo, UT: price level 98.2Des Moines, IA: price level 91.7Daytona Beach, FL: price level 99.4Poughkeepsie, NY: price level 109.4Madison, WI: price level 97.3Winston-Salem, NC: price level 92.0Akron, OH: price level 93.4Ogden, UT: price level 100.3Wichita, KS: price level 88.9Palm Bay, FL: price level 100.0Syracuse, NY: price level 95.7Augusta, GA: price level 91.9Durham, NC: price level 97.6Harrisburg, PA: price level 98.7Jackson, MS: price level 89.0Fayetteville, AR: price level 91.4Spokane, WA: price level 100.3Toledo, OH: price level 91.5Chattanooga, TN: price level 91.5New Haven, CT: price level 104.6Reno, NV: price level 101.0Portland, ME: price level 101.9Port St. Lucie, FL: price level 100.2Huntsville, AL: price level 93.1Pensacola, FL: price level 97.7Lexington, KY: price level 92.9Killeen, TX: price level 91.1Springfield, MO: price level 88.6Santa Rosa, CA: price level 107.8Wilmington, NC: price level 96.4Fort Wayne, IN: price level 92.6Vallejo, CA: price level 108.5Santa Barbara, CA: price level 108.8Salinas, CA: price level 109.0Savannah, GA: price level 95.2Manchester, NH: price level 105.7Ocala, FL: price level 95.2Asheville, NC: price level 96.5Naples, FL: price level 103.2Myrtle Beach, SC: price level 93.6Anchorage, AK: price level 105.4Spartanburg, SC: price level 91.1Fayetteville, NC: price level 92.0Trenton, NJ: price level 103.2Eugene, OR: price level 101.6Fort Collins, CO: price level 101.1Ann Arbor, MI: price level 100.9Greeley, CO: price level 100.2Gainesville, FL: price level 96.7Clarksville, TN: price level 90.9Boulder, CO: price level 105.2Columbus, GA: price level 89.3Crestview, FL: price level 97.0Sioux Falls, SD: price level 90.6Olympia, WA: price level 103.7Norwich, CT: price level 100.4Bremerton, WA: price level 105.6Fargo, ND: price level 90.9Bend, OR: price level 103.6Daphne, AL: price level 94.7Prescott, AZ: price level 98.3Hilton Head Island, SC: price level 98.0Burlington, VT: price level 100.9Panama City, FL: price level 97.3Jacksonville, NC: price level 92.1Punta Gorda, FL: price level 100.5Billings, MT: price level 93.5The Villages, FL: price level 85.4Cheyenne, WY: price level 96.5

Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.

Price level of the 149 metros we cover
See all 149 cities

Price level, from cheaper to pricier.

Salary to match $75k
$74,100
vs. an average-priced, no-income-tax area
Median rent
$1,059
per month · need $42,360 income
Median home
$237,300
need about $71,432 to buy

Compare Akron with your city

See what you'd need to earn in Akron to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from Cleveland, OH, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), using its median household income as an illustrative single-earner salary. Household income can include several earners and other income; it is not a typical individual wage. Pick your own city, salary and filing status.

Unchecked means living and working outside the named city or county tax area. This estimates typical suburban tax; it does not calculate a nonresident tax for work inside the city.

Equal salary in Akron: $74,500

Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities

To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $74,500 in Akron, OH to match $75,000 in Cleveland, OH ($500 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.

Single filer, W-2 salary. Both are in Ohio, so state income tax is the same; includes Cleveland resident tax $1,875 and Akron resident tax $1,875 (inside city limits).

Prices and housing cover the metro area; taxes use Ohio, its principal state. A metro can span several states; living in its other state can change the tax result.

Take-home in Cleveland
$58,099
22.5% total tax
Take-home in Akron
$58,099
22.5% total tax
Prices in Akron
-0.5%
vs Cleveland (BEA 2024)
Renting: change after selected costs
+$336
per year, after taxes and gross rent including basic utilities; excludes food, transport, healthcare, child care and moving costs

See the full Cleveland to Akron report

What things cost in Akron

Price level by category (U.S. = 100)
Below the U.S. average
Overall93.4
Housing rents76.8
Goods93.6
Utilities96.4
Other services98.9

The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.

Taxes in Akron

In this fixed example, one single filer earning a $70,000 W-2 salary keeps $54,844 after 2026 federal tax ($6,570), Social Security and Medicare ($5,355) and Ohio income tax ($1,482), and $1,750 in Akron resident income tax. The salary is rounded from median household income, not an observed individual wage. This example stays fixed when you change the calculator.

Akron residents pay a 2.5% municipal income tax. Ohio city taxes are charged where you work as well as where you live, so anyone who works in Akron pays 2.5% on those wages. Most suburban cities charge their own 2%–2.5% tax (2% is typical); people in unincorporated townships pay only the tax where they work.

Housing

MeasureAkron area
Median rent$1,059/mo
Median home value$237,300
Median property tax$3,278/yr
Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down)$1,667
Median household income$71,364

Climate and jobs in Akron

In the Akron area the average January low is 20°F and the average July high 84°F, and the area has about 11 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 4.9% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $48,840 a year, 4% below the U.S. median.

Climate in the Akron area: NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Climate1991–2020 average
January low20°F
July high84°F
Days 90°F or hotter11 a year
Precipitation42 in a year
Snowfall47 in a year
Jobs and pay in the Akron area compared with the U.S. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobs and payMetro areaU.S.
Unemployment rate, 2025 average4.9%4.3%
Median wage, all jobs (May 2025)$48,840$50,980
Wage and salary jobs (May 2025)319,560155.5 million

Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the Akron Canton Regional Airport station (USW00014895). Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Retiring in Akron

Our modeled retiree budget is about $3,070 a month here with a home owned outright, or $3,324 renting. It uses spending benchmarks for households with a reference person age 65 or older (BLS 2024), adjusted for local prices. These are household-based estimates, not observed spending by a single retiree in Akron. See where your budget goes furthest.

Where people move to and from Akron

Leaving Akron for… (households)
Cleveland4,170
Columbus802
Cincinnati130
Chicago124
Pittsburgh123
Tampa116
Phoenix99
Los Angeles96
Moving to Akron from… (households)
Cleveland4,839
Columbus460
Pittsburgh135
Phoenix86
Tampa76
Miami75
Toledo75
Cincinnati69

IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.

Natural hazard risk

RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores for the Akron area is 85.1 of 100 (very high county-score mean), with modeled expected losses of about $187 per resident per year. A mean of county percentiles is not an official FEMA metro rating or a national metro percentile. It describes the counties in the metro; your property's risk can differ. Disaster risk by county in Ohio.

Highest population-weighted county hazard scores
County-score mean above 50
Hail97
Strong wind93
Ice storm92
Winter weather92
Riverine flooding90

The vertical line marks county-score scale midpoint (50).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to live in Akron?

In a fixed single-filer W-2 example living inside the principal city, about $74,100 in Akron matches the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax. The example uses 2026 federal taxes, Ohio state taxes and modeled resident local taxes where applicable. It stays fixed when calculator inputs change. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $42,360, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $71,432.

Is Akron expensive?

The Akron metro area's price level is 93.4 (U.S. = 100), #112 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing rents price index is 76.8, 23% below the U.S. average.

Are people moving to Akron?

Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Akron had a net loss of about 527 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).

What is the weather like in Akron?

In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Akron area (Akron Canton Regional Airport weather station), the average January low is 20°F and the average July high 84°F. The area has about 11 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 42 inches of precipitation a year and about 47 inches of snow.

What are jobs and pay like in Akron?

The Akron metro area's unemployment rate averaged 4.9% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $48,840 a year in May 2025, 4% below the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What natural disasters affect Akron?

RelocateMath's population-weighted mean of FEMA county risk scores is 85.1 out of 100 (very high county-score mean). This is not an official FEMA metro rating or a national metro percentile. The highest county-score means by hazard are hail, strong wind, ice storm.

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State-agency links identify the responsible tax office; they do not verify every modeled rule. Use forms and guidance for the year you are filing. Local-tax references retain their own publication or filing years. Some documents cover an earlier filing year; a source link is not a claim that every rule has just been rechecked.