124,876: Number of additional childcare slots Ohio could make available if providers had enough staff to operate at full capacity. Three-quarters of Ohio’s childcare centers are below full enrollment, not because they lack space, but because they cannot recruit and retain enough workers. (Our new factsheets show the share of under-capacity childcare centers in every legislative district.) Since 2019, Ohio’s childcare workforce has shrunk by nearly 40%, while the typical childcare worker is paid just $14.27 an hour — often too little to afford care for their own kids. Our new brief highlights the WIN Act, which would provide free childcare for childcare workers, helping providers attract staff and open more seats. The bill (HB 484) is in the House now — legislators should pass it before the end of session.
3: Number of states whose median wages declined more than Ohio’s from 2024 to 2025. That puts us either very low on a good list or very high on a bad one. Either way, we’re outside the national norm reported in last week’s release of 2025 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But that’s about as specific as we can be, since the data were incomplete: Federal rule changes make it much more difficult to get data for state-level and local analysis. (We only know about Ohio’s median wage decrease because of a different data set, used in our State of Working Ohio report.) National averages can mask local realities, especially as federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid begin to take effect. Without detailed state and local Census data, Ohioans are left with an incomplete picture of how policy changes are affecting our communities.
$19K: Annual tax benefit given to the average Ohio millionaire thanks to legislators’ decision to “flatten” the state income tax. Everyone making more than $26,050 a year will now pay the same 2.75% rate, whether they’re a millionaire or a childcare worker. In an op-ed originally published in the Columbus Dispatch, Policy Matters’ recent tax policy research intern Arrieonna Derricoatte makes the case for a better approach: fair share taxes (which were also the subject of our May Revenue Roundtable). Fair share taxes require the wealthiest to contribute more so states can invest in schools, healthcare and other public goods. It’s an idea already delivering results elsewhere: Massachusetts’ tax on income over $1 million raised more than $6 billion in its first two years.
61% Share of capital gains in Ohio that go to the 1% of households with annual income over $753K. The 60% of Ohioans with income under $85K get just 3% of those gains. So, when a legislator tells you they want to eliminate cap gains taxes, you know who they’re really serving. At next week’s Revenue Roundtable, we’ll discuss Ohio’s capital gains tax and the high cost of eliminating it. Register to join us on Zoom,this Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. to learn what eliminating Ohio’s capital gains tax would mean for our state. And in the meantime, brush up on your tax policy with our April brief on HB 617, which would eliminate state and local taxes on capital gains.
$0: Cost of pizza at our upcoming State of Working Ohio Roadshow at Westside Bowl in Youngstown. Slices are on us until we run out — so get there early! Food starts at 6:00, conversation from 6:30-8:00. We’ll be talking with the team behind this year’s State of Working Ohio report, with a focus on how state-level policy decisions impact working people in the Mahoning Valley. It’s all happening on October 15! RSVP here!
Action items:
PUPS (Parents United for Public Schools) are barnstorming school districts across the state to discuss funding for public schools, and how badly Ohio legislators messed up when they abandoned the Fair School Funding Plan. Registration is open for the following events—attend a PUPS Town Hall near you!
- Sept. 23 in Berea:The Cost of Shortchanging Cuyahoga County Schools
- Sept. 29 in Ravenna:Portage County Public School Funding Town Hall
- Just added! Oct. 6 in Elyria: The Cost of Shortchanging Lorain County Schools
- Oct. 8 in North Canton: The Cost of Shortchanging Stark County Schools
Stay tuned for more — and follow PUPS on Instagram for all the latest.
Lame duck is an opportunity for legislators to act on data centers (and more)