What is the poverty rate in Ohio?
Updated monthly
About 12.7% of Ohio’s population in 2024. The poverty rate is the percentage of people whose household income falls below the poverty threshold set by the government. It measures the percentage of people in households that don’t earn enough to pay for basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. In 2024, 1,467,983 people in Ohio were considered in poverty.
12.7%
of the population (2024)
1.47M
people living under the poverty line (2024)
The state's poverty rate was 12.7% in 2024, the lowest based on data from the American Community Survey dating back to 2010. It was 0.6 percentage points lower than the previous year. Ohio's poverty rate hit a peak in 2011 of 16.4%.
In 2024, 12.7% of Ohio population were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate
While the poverty rate shows the overall trend, the total number matters because many aid programs and funding decisions are based on how many people are in poverty, not just the percentage. In 2024, 1,467,983 people living in Ohio were in poverty — down 20.5% from the 2011 peak of 1,845,800.
In 2024, 1.47M people in Ohio were in poverty.
People living under poverty line
Poverty doesn’t affect all groups equally. Rates vary widely by demographic group, family type and location.
From 2014 to 2024, the poverty rate for children under 18 in Ohio decreased from 22.9% to 16.5%. During the same period, the poverty rate for adults under 65 years decreased from 15.1% to 12%. For those older than 65, the poverty rate increased from 8.1% to 10.4%.
In 2024, 16.5% of children in Ohio were living under the poverty line.
Poverty rate by age group
Among racial or ethnic groups in Ohio during 2024, seven had a higher poverty rate than the state’s overall rate: American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race), Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, some other race, and two or more races.
One group had a lower than average poverty rate: White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.
Over the previous ten years, the poverty rate for the Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander population shifted the most, decreasing from 38.6% in 2014 to 22.7% in 2024.
In Ohio, the poverty rate for the Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander population decreased from 38.6% in 2014 to 22.7% in 2024.
Poverty rate by race or ethnicity
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Ohio counties ranged from 5% in Delaware County to 22.4% in Scioto County. The poverty rate in the state’s largest county — Franklin County — was 14.5%.
In 2019-2023, the poverty rate among Ohio counties ranged from 5.0% to 22.4%.
Poverty rate
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
