Minimum wage too low to meet cost of living anywhere in Ohio

As comparable states pull ahead, Ohioans can’t afford to wait for a $15 minimum wage

Ohio’s minimum wage of $11 an hour is not enough for a single worker to afford basic living expenses in any of Ohio’s 88 counties. At just $22,880 annually (for full-time, year-round work), it comes to $4,440 less than the federal poverty line for a family of three. Under current policy, workers won’t see a $15 minimum wage until 2034; for tipped workers, the wait would stretch to 2064. A new report from Policy Matters Ohio makes the case that Ohioans cannot afford to wait that long.

Using modeling from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the report finds that raising Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 by 2030 would give 321,500 workers a direct pay raise, with another 295,200 benefiting indirectly as employers raise wages near the new floor. Across all full-time affected workers, that would mean an average increase of $1.62 an hour, or $2,298 a year. Women and workers of color would benefit at disproportionately high rates.

“The numbers really are striking: Even in Scioto County, where cost-of-living is lowest in the state, a single person working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year can’t get by on minimum wage,” said Heather Smith, work and wages researcher and co-author of the report. “Ohio voters indexed our minimum wage to inflation back in 2006. It’s smart policy, but we started too low. Today’s $11 minimum wage is the equivalent of $6.85 when the wage was set. It’s never been adequate, and with such low wages in so many of the state’s most common jobs, Ohio workers are facing an affordability crisis.”

The report also cites recent studies that suggest negative impacts of a minimum wage increase are overstated. “We’re seeing evidence that higher wages reduce turnover, and lower turnover saves employers money on hiring and training — so some of the cost increase pays for itself,” Smith said.

“Voters in Florida, Missouri, and Nebraska have already approved ballot initiatives that will bring their state minimum wages to $15 an hour by 2027. Ohio’s economy is strong enough to support a $15 minimum wage, and the workers who would benefit most have been waiting long enough.”