Ohio’s capital budget and higher ed funding
On June 15, 2026 Governor DeWine signed into law the 136th General Assembly’s capital budget, funding $3.7 billion in projects across Ohio’s 88 counties, including $600 million for school building assistance, $510 million for local infrastructure projects, and $346.5 million for improvements at behavioral health facilities. Ohio’s capital budget funds the acquisition, construction, equipment, or renovation of buildings and other facilities. In this case, it covers fiscal years 2027 and 2028 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028). The capital budget is passed in even-numbered years, alternating with the much larger operating budget.
Context: Ohio’s other budgets
The main operating budget, passed in odd-numbered years, provides two years of funding for most state agencies, the legislature, and the judiciary. This includes funding for Ohio’s public schools, Ohio Medicaid, childcare assistance, and much more. The FY 2026-FY2027 main operating budget allocated just over $90 billion when signed into law in July 2025 and covers state spending through June 30, 2027. The new Ohio governor will introduce their version of the next main operating budget in March 2027.
Smaller budgets, also passed in odd-numbered years, include the transportation budget, which funds the departments of Transportation and Public Safety, and other programs paid for with motor vehicle fuel taxes and registration fees, and the workers’ compensation budgets, funding two agencies that are paid for by public- and private-sector employers.
Ohio’s investment through the capital budget has been largely flat when adjusted for inflation[1] over the last ten years. 2024 was a high mark only because of one-time surplus state funds.
This year’s capital budget demonstrates that policymakers can mobilize resources for broadly shared improvements and that bipartisan agreement in Ohio is possible when investments improve communities and are felt broadly across our state.
This is a very “clean” capital budget, with legislators forgoing the types of policy insertions that plague the operating budget, and instead prioritizing projects that Ohioans can enjoy in their communities, with all 88 counties receiving funding. The interactive map below shows how much funding is directed to each county.[2]
| Capital budget funds, in billions | ||
| Year | Nominal | Inflation-adjusted to 2026 dollars |
| 2016 | $2.6 | $3.62 |
| 2018 | $2.7 | $3.59 |
| 2020 | $2.8 | $3.64 |
| 2022 | $3.5 | $3.96 |
| 2024 | $4.2 | $3.73* |
| 2026 | $3.7 | $3.70 |
| *Does not include $700M in one-time state surplus funds. | ||
The interactive map below offers another lens on how funding is distributed across the state as capital investments by county on a per-capita basis. This is not a definitive measure of equity: Many counties have outsized funding because of state representatives that have more clout, institutions of higher education, or a particularly robust public project. Many counties have lower per-capita funding because they received larger investments in past capital budgets. While not a standalone analysis, it does offer a snapshot of the 2026 capital budget and highlights patterns.
The capital budget includes funding for improvements to state parks and trails, county fairgrounds, public parks and playgrounds, and community recreation and cultural centers. It also funds new helicopters for the Ohio Highway Patrol, dam rehabilitation, construction and maintenance of local jails and other correctional facilities, among many other projects across the state.
A full list of all the projects for each county that was funded under Ohio’s 2026 Capital Budget is available on the Legislative Services Commission Website.
Higher education funding in Ohio’s capital budget
Legislators allocated more than $450 million to Ohio’s community colleges and state universities in the capital budget.
In Northeast Ohio, Kent State University received nearly $30 million in investments from the Capital Budget for several campuses. In Portage County those projects include critical deferred upgrades, HVAC replacement, and renovation of White Hall and the University Library Tower including elevator modernization. In Ashtabula County projects include work at the Ashtabula County Animal Shelter and Ashtabula Regional Medical Center. Kent State University projects in Stark, Lake, and Mahoning Counties are also funded.
Cleveland State University in Cuyahoga County received over $16 million for basic renovations, the Birthing Beautiful Communities Birth Center, campus-wide elevator modifications, and more.
In Southeast Ohio, Ohio University received nearly $25 million in investments from the Capital Budget for several campuses. In Athens County those projects include renewal to academic spaces and improvements to building and safety systems. In Fairfield County, OU received funding for the OU Lancaster Wagner Theatre, a respiratory therapy lab, and greenhouse renovations. Smaller Ohio University projects in Lawrence, Belmont, and Ross Counties are also funded.
Miami University in Butler County received about $24 million for a School of Business Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Industry Engagement Facility.
In Southwest Ohio, the University of Cincinnati received nearly $20 million in investments from the Capital Budget. For the main campus in Hamilton County those projects include Holmes Hospital Renovations, A Food Hall and Kitchen in the Uptown Innovation District, and improvements to the Delhi Park Sports Complex. A smaller project in Clermont County is also funded.
Sinclair Community College in Montgomery County received a little over $14 million for campus wide general plumbing replacement, fire system upgrades, the West Carrolton First Responder Training Center, and the Dayton Kitchen Incubator Project, among other projects.
In Northwest Ohio, Bowling Green State University received more than $60 million in investments from the Capital Budget for several campuses. In Wood County those projects include academic building and critical infrastructure (technology) rehabilitation, as well as a Joint Watershed Greenhouse and Research Lab. Smaller BGSU projects in Hancock and Lucas Counties are also funded.
The University of Toledo received just over $18 million for building weatherproofing, the Toledo Mosaic Community Zone, and underground utility infrastructure improvements in Lucas County.
In Central Ohio, Ohio State University received more than $60 million in investments from the Capital Budget for several campuses. In Franklin County those projects include a Junior Achievement of Ohio Project, and renovation of Hughes and Ramseyer Halls. Smaller Ohio State University projects in Richland and Seneca Counties are also funded.
Columbus State Community College received just over $20 million for the Ohio Life Science Training Center and Student Success renovations in Franklin County, as well as a Fire & EMS Training Facility in Madison County in addition to other projects.
Up next: the Main Operating Budget
This November, Ohioans will elect our next governor, who will introduce their version of the main operating budget in March 2027. The proposal will make its way through the legislature in March, April, May, and June, and shape the state’s broader vision and priorities through 2029. That budget — which will be much larger than the capital budget — is an opportunity to fully fund Ohio’s public schools, ensure access to healthcare, address the growing childcare crisis, make higher education more accessible, and advance other key priorities. To do so, legislators will need to cooperate across parties to create a budget that works for all Ohioans, as they have done with this capital budget.
[1] According the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation calculator.
[2] This does not include statewide or multi-county investments.