Ohio

How much do full-time workers have to make hourly to afford a two bedroom apartment?

Published

1 year ago

August 12, 2024

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How much do full-time workers have to make hourly to afford a two bedroom apartment?

How much must Ohioans earn per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment? It might be more than you think.

Full-time workers must earn more than $20 per hour ($20.81) to afford a two-bedroom apartment, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.

That’s more than $40,000 a year. And, there’s a large gap between renters’ income and the cost of rent, according to the report.

In recent years, rent prices have increased rapidly, but income hasn’t kept pace. For instance, the so-called “housing wage” — or the amount workers must earn per hour to afford a two bedroom apartment — has increased 9% since last year.

Learn why evictions are rising: Eviction filings at 20-year high in Columbus, Franklin County and set to worsen

“Wages for Ohio’s most common jobs have increased significantly since the pandemic,” Ohio Coalition Executive Director Amy Riegel said in a media release. “Employers are trying to keep pace with inflation, but the skyrocketing cost of rent has effectively erased these wage gains, pushing affordable homes out of reach for a large swath of Ohio’s workforce.”

What jobs pay enough to afford rent in Ohio? Columbus? Cincinnati?

The report, called “Out of Reach Ohio,” shows that only two of the 10 jobs with the most employees in Ohio pay more than $20.81 per hour. Those are general operations managers and registered nurses.

Workers in some areas may have to make even more than $20.81 per hour, as rents are higher than the state’s average in some places.

Housing purchase: Columbus housing authority announces affordable housing coming to Columbus and Reynoldsburg

In Columbus, those wanting two-bedroom apartments must make $25.04 an hour to afford it. In Cincinnati, they have to make $22.98, and in Cleveland their income must be $21.31 per hour.

As rents rise, people lose their homes

Evictions are at a 20-year high and increasing in Franklin County this year, and Ohio landlords filed nearly 108,000 eviction cases in 2023. That’s more than any year since 2015, according to the report.

Meanwhile, homelessness increased 7% in Ohio from 2022 to 2023.

“Aging Ohioans and people with disabilities living on a fixed income are especially vulnerable to rent shock,” Riegel said in a release. Meanwhile, Social Security payments have increased only minimally in recent years.

“Ohioans who worked hard for 40 years or more should be enjoying their golden years. Instead, many are rationing medications and wondering how they’re going to feed themselves and pay the rent.”

How does Ohio’s housing wage measure up against other states?

The Out of Reach report also ranks states’ housing wages.

Ohio came in 41st, meaning 40 other states have higher housing wages. Still, Ohioans making minimum wage ($10.45 per hour in the state) would have to work 80 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

More: What’s the plan to help people afford housing as Columbus’ COVID rent assistance runs out?

West Virginia has the lowest housing wage, with those wanting a two-bedroom apartment needing to make $18.46 per hour. The state’s minimum wage is $8.75, so minimum-wage workers must work 84 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

California has the highest housing wage, at $47.38 per hour needed for a two-bedroom apartment. A minimum wage worker in that state earns $16 an hour and would have to work 118 hours per week to afford the same apartment.

What can be done about increasing rent?

Ohio’s budget last year included some early steps to address the state’s affordability crisis, Riegel said. But the state needs to do more, she said.

One of her suggestions? The Ohio Housing Trust Fund, the primary source of state funding for local housing and homelessness programs, should be strengthened.

“This year’s Out of Reach report shows that despite rising wages, cooling inflation, and low unemployment, low-wage workers and other renters continue to struggle with the high cost of rent,” said Diane Yentel, national coalition president and CEO, in a release.

U-Haul has top states, cities of origin Where are new Columbus residents moving from?

She urged Congress to tackle the housing affordability crisis, as it impacts the whole country, not just Ohio.

“Addressing the challenge requires long-term federal investments in affordable housing. As evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal policies and resources play a pivotal role in establishing a robust housing safety net, preventing evictions and homelessness, and mitigating housing instability among renters with the lowest incomes,” Yentel said. “Likewise, federal renter protections are needed to ensure decent, safe, and accessible living conditions for tenants around the country.”

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

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Ohio

Protesters blast music outside Columbus hotel where ICE was staying

Published

54 minutes ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Protesters blast music outside Columbus hotel where ICE was staying

Protesters gathered outside a Columbus-area hotel to disrupt U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials staying there.
Police were called to the Embassy Suites on Dec. 19 due to noise complaints from the demonstration.
The protest, which included loud music, followed several days of reported ICE activity in the Columbus area.
A hotel employee confirmed ICE officials were guests and that some other guests received refunds due to the disturbance.

Dozens of people gathered in below freezing temperatures Friday night, Dec. 19, to protest U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials’ presence in Columbus.

Protesters discovered where ICE officials were staying locally and showed up outside their hotel to blast music and disrupt their sleep, according to reports from social media, a witness, police and a hotel employee.

The music, mostly electronic dance music with heavy beats, began around 9 p.m. and didn’t cease for hours, said Brandon Baker, 36, who happened upon the scene after hearing and seeing activity.

He took a video and posted it on Facebook as he stood outside the Embassy Suites hotel on Corporate Exchange Drive on the Northeast Side near Westerville around 9:30 p.m.

“It’s important to recognize that Columbus is a melting pot and we’re not going to tolerate this kind of intolerance,” Baker said, of why he posted the video. He was also hoping more people might come.

In the nearly hour he was on scene, Baker said he saw approximately 50 people gathered outside grow to a group closer to 150. There were also people in parked cars honking their horns and five to seven police cars there, though he said police weren’t interacting with protesters. He also witnessed people leaving the hotel.

Columbus police said they were called around 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 19 due to noise complaints, but said there was no further information.

The protest followed several reports of increased ICE activity and arrests Dec. 17, 18 and 19 in Columbus, as well as a small group protest outside the Westerville ICE office earlier on Friday.

The increased ICE activity prompted responses from city officials, advocates and more earlier in the week. The response included Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and Columbus police Chief Elaine Bryant saying no city resources would be used to help federal agents in immigration enforcement operations.

“It was a good symbol and a good thing to see Columbus kind of fighting back against this group of indivdiuals who have pretty much taken it upon themselves to terrorize people,” Baker said of the protest. “If we’re so anti-terrorism in the United States, why are we allowing something like this to even happen?”

On Dec. 18, an ICE spokesperson said in a prepared release: “ICE officers continue to arrest criminal illegal aliens and immigration violators in the city of Columbus, across Ohio, and throughout the United States.”

“These enforcement actions are part of ongoing efforts to uphold public safety and enforce federal immigration laws,” the statement said.

Some advocates said they feared the increased activity in Columbus in the past few days – including an estimated 15 to 20 arrests each day on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18 – might be the beginning of raids in other U.S. cities. In Chicago, ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz” ended with 1,600 to 1,900 people arrested beginning in September, according to news reports.

The hotel had to refund at least a few guests, a hotel employee said. He confirmed ICE was staying at the hotel, but emphasized they are open to the public and do not have control over who stays there.

Baker’s video pans as someone states that people are blaring music outside the hotel to keep ICE awake.

“Everyone was doing everything they could to make noise,” Baker said. “The idea is to play the music and stuff as loud as possible to keep them from sleeping.”

It appeared that the music was coming from a bus with speakers attached, Baker said, but people were also playing trombones and trumpets and ringing cow bells.

People Baker spoke to said they were trying to “drown” out ICE and get them to leave.

“Columbus is done with this,” Baker said.

Underserved Communities Reporter Danae King can be reached at dking@dispatch.com or on X at @DanaeKing.

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Ohio

$50K Powerball ticket sold in Northeast Ohio; jackpot reaches $1.5B

Published

13 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

K Powerball ticket sold in Northeast Ohio; jackpot reaches .5B

CANFIELD, Ohio (WJW) – Nobody took home the massive Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, but one Canfield man is still celebrating after purchasing a winning ticket worth $50,000.

According to Ohio Lottery, Bryan decided to try his luck after realizing the Powerball jackpot was over $1 billion. He bought a ticket from the Meijer grocery store on Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman.

The next morning, Bryan woke up and checked the ticket, stunned to discover that he won $50,000.

After mandatory state and federal taxes, the lucky winner will take home more than $36,000.

Bryan told lottery officials that he doesn’t have specific plans for money yet, but the big win will certainly make for “a very good Christmas.”

It has been months since someone won the Powerball jackpot, which now sits at a massive $1.5 billion. There is also a cash option worth $689.3 million up for grabs.

The next drawing will be Saturday night at 11 p.m. Learn more about the Powerball right here.

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Ohio

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

After her son died in car wreck, Ohio mom fought for public records

A mom searching for answers about her son’s death in a car wreck won a victory on Dec. 19 when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Richland County Sheriff to release records to her.

The court ruled in a unanimous decision that Andrea Mauk is entitled to three sets of records withheld by the sheriff, with only Social Security numbers being redacted. Mauk will be awarded $2,000 in damages but will not receive attorney fees.

On June 23, 2023, 18-year-old Damon Mauk lost control of his 1998 Ford Mustang and slammed it into a tree. His mother wanted to piece together what happened, collect his belongings and grieve the loss of her child. She didn’t think she’d have to fight for public records and take her case to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Following the crash, Richland County Sheriff’s deputies, a township fire department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded.

During the investigation, a trooper told a deputy to leave Damon’s iPhone and wallet in the car, according to Mauk’s court filings. Instead, the deputy took the belongings to the hospital and handed them off to someone who said he was Damon’s dad.

Mauk didn’t understand. Damon’s father was largely absent from his life. How could he have been there to pick up the wallet and phone?

A few weeks after the fatal crash, Mauk asked for records, including: the sheriff’s report and inventory of items taken from the car, body camera footage from deputies who gave away the belongings, the report, photos and videos created by the patrol and more.

Mauk, of the Mansfield area, received some but not all of the requested records. Mauk hired attorney Brian Bardwell to pursue records she believes exist but weren’t provided or were improperly redacted.

The sheriff’s office claimed that some of the requested records were exempt from disclosure because they are confidential law enforcement records or personal notes. The court privately reviewed the records withheld from Mauk and determined that they should be released.

The decision in favor of releasing records runs contrary to recent rulings from the high court.

In 2024, the court held that the cost of sending troopers to protect Gov. Mike DeWine at a Super Bowl game weren’t subject to disclosure and that the Ohio Department of Health should redact from a database the names and addresses of Ohioans who had died, even though that death certificate information can be released on an individual case basis.

In 2025 the court ruled that police officers’ names may be kept confidential if they’re attacked on the job, giving them privacy rights afforded to crime victims.

State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.

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