WASHINGTON – Ohio has experienced the steepest decline in homeownership affordability of any state between 2020 and 2025, according to a recent report from the National Housing Conference. The study, titled "Priced Out: When a Good Job Isn’t Enough," indicates that fewer occupations across the state now pay enough to afford a typical home.
The report found that the share of occupations able to afford a typically priced home with a 10% down payment dropped by nearly 41 percentage points across Ohio’s metropolitan areas. Five Ohio metros—Mansfield, Cleveland, Springfield, Toledo, and Akron—were ranked among the 25 largest declines in homeownership affordability nationwide.
In Mansfield, for example, 82% of tracked occupations could afford a typical home in 2020. However, by 2025, that share had significantly fallen to just 30%. Columbus experienced a similar decline, with affordability for tracked occupations decreasing from 40% to only 9% during the same period.
The cost of a typically priced home in Mansfield increased substantially, from $115,041 in 2020 to $188,863 in 2025, according to the National Housing Conference report. The annual income needed to qualify for a home more than doubled, rising 121% from $28,483 to $62,931.
These changes have made homeownership increasingly difficult for workers in various fields. In 2020, elementary and special education teachers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, and postal service mail carriers were among the occupations that could afford a typical Mansfield home. By 2025, the report found that firefighters, postal service mail carriers, executive secretaries, and loan officers could no longer afford one.
Affordability continued to decline even more recently, with Ohio’s measure dropping by more than 5 percentage points between 2023 and 2025. Springfield and Toledo recorded some of the sharpest recent drops nationally, with declines of 13.48 and 12.05 percentage points, respectively.
David M. Dworkin, President and CEO of the National Housing Conference, stated that these findings highlight a broader workforce and economic challenge. He noted that workers are struggling to afford homes in the very communities where they are employed.
The organization suggests several strategies to address the problem, including increasing the supply of homes at prices workers can afford, preserving existing housing, and reducing unnecessary development costs and delays.
Renters are also facing significant affordability challenges. The report indicated that 45,833 combinations of occupations and metropolitan areas could afford a two-bedroom apartment without being cost-burdened in 2025. This represents a decrease of 5,989 combinations compared to 2020. Nearly half of the tracked combinations could not afford a two-bedroom rental.
The National Housing Conference based its analysis on occupational wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, typical home values from Zillow, and fair market rent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
