How much do you need to earn to be considered middle class in Ohio?

Defining the middle class is more complicated than it may seem, especially since the United States Census Bureau does not have an official definition for the term.

The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households with incomes between 67% and 200% of the median income – meaning those who earn between two-thirds and twice as much as the median household in Ohio.

According to the most recent data from 2022, middle-income households in the U.S. earned between approximately $56,600 and $169,800, Pew Research Center reported. Households earning less than $56,600 were considered lower-income, while those earning more than $169,800 were classified as upper-income.

Bigger paycheck: Minimum wage in Ohio going up on Jan. 1

Tax increase: The sales tax in central Ohio is going up Jan. 1. Here’s what that applies to

Calculator: Are you in your Ohio city’s middle class?

In Ohio, the median income is lower than the nationwide average.

A study from the personal finance site SmartAsset earlier this year found that the middle income range for the state falls between $43,809 and $131,440, with the median household income at $65,720.

Check to see where you fall in your city.

How much do Ohio’s highest-earning households make?

To be in the top 10% of earners in Ohio, you need to make $227,669, according to Yahoo Finance. In 2024, the pre-tax salary required to be in the top 1% of earners in Ohio is $494,700, per SmartAsset.

Ohio State‘s convincing 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff set the stage for a blockbuster rematch between the Buckeyes and the undefeated, top-seeded Oregon Ducks.

The Buckeyes have known this rematch was looming in the quarterfinals since the CFP bracket was set, but weren’t able to look past the Vols until the final whistle.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

Now set to face a fresh Oregon squad coming off a Big Ten Championship win over Penn State and a first-round bye, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day explained why this Ducks squad isn’t the same one they lost to earlier this year — and either are they.

“It’s not like we played them just a couple weeks ago,” Day said. “This was midseason, and there’s been a lot of football played since then. Like I said, I feel we’ve evolved. They’ve evolved. Different teams. So there are certainly things that you want to look at that happened in that game but also, as time’s moved on, how they’ve changed, how we’ve changed and how does that fit as we put together the game plan.

“But ultimately, we want to make sure that we’re putting together a great game plan so our guys can play fast, they understand what we’re trying to get done in terms of attacking in all three phases, and they can play with emotion and physicality.”

During the regular season, the clock literally ran out on Ohio State and left Eugene with a heartbreaking 32-31 loss. The Ducks are still undefeated heading into Saturday after edging past the Buckeyes in October.

“We’ve made adjustments coming off that game, and we worked hard to make sure that we’re putting our guys in the best position to be successful,” he continued. “We’ll do that again against these guys this week and go compete our tails off.”

The rematch between the Buckeyes and Ducks is set for 5 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day and will air live on ESPN.

Going into the 2024 college football season, there were a lot of questions about Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard.

Heck, there were concerns about him following Ohio State’s dreadful loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the season finale, and the jury is really still out on the Kansas State transfer.

However, there is no denying that Howard stepped up in the Buckeyes’ first-round College Football Playoff game against the Tennessee Volunteers, as he went 24-for-29 with 311 yards, a couple of touchdowns and an interception.

As a result of his impressive performance, Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports ranked him the second-best quarterback remaining in the College Football Playoff, placing only Oregon Ducks signal-caller Dillon Gabriel above him.

“It was easy to say Ohio State should’ve thrown the ball more in the loss to Michigan — I know because I said it, too — but there are two sides to the story,” Fornelli wrote. “You can’t just call more pass plays; you need your quarterback to execute. Howard did that in a frigid Ohio Stadium on Saturday night. He dropped some absolute dimes en route to 311 yards passing while completing 24 of his 29 attempts. This week, he’ll get a chance at redemption following his late-game gaffe in Eugene earlier this season.”

On the season overall, Howard has thrown for 3,171 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine picks while completing 73.2 percent of his passes. He has also punched in seven rushing scores.

Howard still has head-scratching moments, like when he threw an interception in the red zone during the first half against Tennessee.

But, for the most part, he has been everything Ohio State could have asked for since acquiring him via the transfer portal last year.

We’ll see how he fares against Oregon in the Rose Bowl.