Still working for too little in Ohio, 2025
Every employer should pay every employee at least enough to cover the basics. In Ohio, too many employers get away with paying a lot less: Eight of the 10 most common occupations[1] in the state paid their median worker less than what’s required to afford the basic cost-of-living for an Ohio family of three: $79,622.[2] Those eight occupations employ 931,910 Ohioans, accounting for 16.8% of the total workforce. Out of all the 5.5 million jobs in Ohio in 2024, 82.3% were occupations that pay the median worker below the cost-of-living for a small family.[3] Four occupations paid so little that the median worker would qualify for food assistance.[4] Ohioans in just these four undervalued, underpaid occupations make up 9.2% of the jobs across the state, employing 505,680 workers.
The most common occupation in Ohio in 2024, Fast Food and Counter Workers, grew by 16% since 2023, adding 26,890 jobs. The median annual earnings for that job dropped by 1.2%, as a share of the federal poverty measure. This means that even as employment and nominal wages grew, workers in this field lost ground relative to what it takes to exist above the poverty line. Even though inflation has slowed, many families are still dealing with increased prices and seven out of the top 10 most common occupations saw wages for the median worker fall relative to the poverty line.
This report uses the May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, released annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It covers the ten most populous jobs in Ohio, ranked by number of workers employed in those occupations. In total, these ten occupations made up 22% of the jobs in the state, over 1.2 million. While Ohio has recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic and then some, certain localities have not fully recovered.[5]
Changes to MSAs
The May 2024 estimates have been adjusted to the new Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) boundaries determined after the 2020 Census.[6] An MSA is a geographic area with substantial population density and economic activity.[7] There are 12 MSAs in Ohio, defined in Appendix A. Notably, the Sandusky Micropolitan Statistical Area[8] was upgraded to its own Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cleveland-Elyria MSA (now Cleveland MSA) was amended to include Ashtabula County and consequently grew by approximately 5% in population.[9] Youngstown-Warren MSA previously included Mercer County in Pennsylvania, which has a population of nearly 110,000, but is now only within the bounds of Ohio.
Employment data by MSA
Ohio has recovered jobs lost during pandemic, but 3 top occupations see losses
Seven of Ohio’s 10 most common occupations gained jobs from 2023 to 2024. The most common, Fast Food and Counter Workers, jumped by 16% to 167,650 jobs. That change (+26,890 jobs) effectively offset losses in Cashier (-9,720), Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers (-8,050), and Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators (-5,930) occupations.[10]
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers occupations grew after the pandemic, but these losses bring the current number of jobs (105,960) close to its 2021 low (105,130).
Retail Salespeople made a comeback (+6,570) after substantial losses during the pandemic (-21,400), which were due in part to the shift toward delivery services over storefront shopping: Stockers and Order Fillers have gained 49,940 jobs since 2019 and 830 since 2023. In 2019, Ohio had 86,150 Stockers and Order Fillers and 148,470 Retail Salespeople, with Stockers and Order Fillers being the 10th most common occupation and Retail Salespeople 2nd. In 2024, Stockers and Order Fillers hold 136,090 jobs as the 4th most common occupation. Retail Salespeople hold 127,070 jobs as the 5th most common.
Last year we reported on the boom[11] in General and Operations Managers, an occupation that has gained 84,710 jobs since 2019 when it was Ohio’s 15th most common job. That growth has since slowed, with 3,780 new jobs added between 2023 and 2024, making it the second-most common occupation in the state
Ohio workers sink deeper into poverty with mediocre wages
In 2024, employers allowed wages to fall, relative to the federal poverty level, for seven of the state’s top 10 occupations. For three of those occupations, the median annual wage was already below the threshold for food assistance, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).[12] Families are eligible for SNAP if their income is at or below 130% of the federal poverty level (FPL).[13] For a family of three in 2024, total household income must be below $33,566 to qualify.[14]
Employers pay Retail Salespeople a median wage of $14.64 per hour, meaning a “typical” full-time, year-round employee with a family of three would qualify for SNAP. It is worth noting that the median wage is the middle of the range: Half of Ohio’s Retail Salespeople make less.
Four of the top occupations pay a median wage so low that a full-time, year-round worker with a family of three would qualify for SNAP: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespeople, Cashiers, and Home Health and Personal Care Aides. While each of these occupations saw wage growth since 2019, it was not enough to provide financial security. Both Fast Food and Counter Workers and Retail Salespeople saw the value of their wages decrease as a share of the FPL between 2023 and 2024, indicating that, relative to poverty, these workers were further behind in 2024 than in 2023.
Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
FPL is a measure used to determine household eligibility for public assistance based on the size of the household. It is updated every year for inflation. The poverty guideline for a single individual is approximately equal to the pay for a full-time job at the federal minimum wage: $7.25 per hour. In Ohio, where the minimum wage is $10.70 per hour, a year-round, full-time position would pay 142% FPL for a single person, 86% FPL for a family of three.
In this report, we determine relative changes in wages across years by converting median annual earnings to a share of the FPL to better demonstrate the value of wages against the government’s measure of poverty.
The chart below shows the gap between an occupation’s nominal (not inflation adjusted) median annual earnings and the threshold for food assistance in the corresponding year. For Retail Salesperson occupations in 2019, earnings were 21.1% less than the food assistance threshold. In 2024, they were 23.7% less. Even with nominal wage growth, these workers slipped further behind.
General and Operations Managers’ wages continue to be the highest paid among the top occupations, with the median annual wage being $94,990 in 2024. That, however, is a 19.4% decrease since 2019, relative to the poverty line.
Registered Nurses had a median annual wage of $81,250 in 2024, a 2% increase in earnings as a share of FPL since 2019, but a 2.1% cut since 2023.[15] In other words, while the typical wage for Registered Nurses was higher in 2024 than in 2019, they lost a little ground between 2023 and 2024, relative to the poverty line.
Only three of the top occupations saw their median annual earnings increase relative to poverty since 2023: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, and Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. Home Health and Personal Care Aides received a less than 1% raise, while the two manual labor occupations—Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators and Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers—saw median wage increases of 7.2% and 4.1% respectively.
In many communities, jobs lost since 2019 weren’t regained in 2023
While Ohio has more jobs in the state than before COVID-19, many metro areas in Ohio are not seeing them. Only Columbus and Cincinnati have more jobs in 2024 than they did in 2019. A significant portion of Columbus’s growth happened in the last year, when the MSA added nearly 18,000 jobs.
Redrawn MSA boundaries may account for employment changes in some areas. For example, the number of jobs in Cleveland increased by 3.7% since 2023 (+37,280), but redrawing the MSA increased its population by 5%. Conversely, the Youngstown-Warren MSA lost 41,000 jobs in the last year, though changes to the MSA’s[16] boundaries decreased its population by 110,000. These changes make precise comparisons difficult year to year, though these data are a good indication of regional trends in economic activity and density.
Federal funding cuts, layoffs, and attacks on collective bargaining rights threaten the 81,074 federal employees in Ohio. They are concentrated in Cincinnati (19,069), Cleveland (15,856), and Dayton (15,532), in agencies such as the IRS, VA Medical Center, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.[17] Veterans make up a quarter of Ohio’s federal workforce (21,200), compared to just 5% nationally.[18]To find out how many federal workers live in your area, refer to our MSA factsheets.
Ohio policymakers can and should fight for more
Invest in childcare: Childcare providers are a necessary part of Ohio’s economy, allowing more parents to enter the workforce. The governor’s budget proposal[19] included ample support for the childcare sector. The House has rolled back most of those supports, choosing to give $600 million in bonds to the Browns[20] instead of funding publicly funded childcare up to 160% FPL. If policymakers truly want to see the workforce in Ohio improve, they should invest in free childcare for childcare workers – a program proven to increase the number of childcare slots available.[21]
Raise the wage: It is past time for Ohio to join the 15 states with minimum wage laws requiring at least $15 an hour. While it would not be enough for a family to afford the basics, it would give all 505,680 underpaid jobs an average additional $0.92 per hour for the median hourly rate.
Keep child labor protections in place: Across the nation, states are considering rollbacks in minor labor protections.[22] Project 2025 outlined the intention to allow teenagers to work in hazardous roles, citing that current law creates “worker shortages in dangerous fields and often discourages otherwise interested young workers from trying the more dangerous jobs.”[23] Using child labor to solve an adult workforce issue is not acceptable. Governor DeWine ought to veto Senate Bill 50,[24] which would extend working hours for 14- and 15-year-olds on school nights.[25]
Support unions: Unions increase wages: In seven of the top 10 occupations,[26] union members’ median earnings were on average $6,812 more annually than non-union workers.[27] Data from the Current Population Survey records the median earnings of workers in terms of their union coverage. The most recent data available shows the difference in earnings across the major occupational categories (each detailed occupation falls under one of the major occupational categories). For the major categories of seven of the top 10 detailed occupations,[28] median annual earnings were greater for both those who are members of and represented by unions. While this data cannot tell us specific wage premium for detailed occupations, it does demonstrate the power unions bring to wage setting.
Now more than ever policymakers should support unions. With the White House eliminating collective bargaining for federal workers, Ohio’s Senate Bill 1[29] stripping university faculty of their right to strike, and a right-to-work[30] bill in Senate Government Oversight and Reform committee,[31] Ohioans need public servants who will represent them, not corporate interests.
Appendix A: MSA definitions
Appendix B: Wage growth since 2019
Four lowest-paid occupations saw wage increases since 2019, but at the median remain below the threshold for food assistance
[1] Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey, May 2024. Updated April 2, 2025.
[2] Averaged from each MSA in the state. See: Economic Policy Institute Family Budget Calculator. The cost-of-living is calculated using housing, food, childcare, transportation, healthcare, and other necessitated costs, like taxes. This number is meant to represent a “modest yet adequate standard of living.”
[3] Determined using the median annual earnings for detailed occupations reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey, May 2024. This number assumes a three-person family with two adults and one child, with one adult working. Many families have two working parents, and the cost-of-living varies for each family. Total employment for detailed occupations (5,499,390) does not add up to total employment across the state (5,526,300) due to limits in reporting for occupations with low sample sizes.
[4] Families are eligible for SNAP up to 130% of the federal poverty level. For a family of three in 2024, total household income must be below $33,566 to qualify.
[5] For job and wage changes since 2019, see the Appendix
[6] See: Upcoming Changes to Metropolitan Statistical Area Delineations, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 5, 2025.
[7] For more on MSAs, see the About section of the United States Census Bureau website.
[8] A Micropolitan Statistical Area is similar in design to a Metropolitan Statistical Area, but the primary urban area cannot surpass 50,000 in population.
[9] Population estimates from the 2022 and 2023 American Community Survey were used to estimate the grow in the MSA. The Ashtabula Micropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 97,014 in 2022 and the Cleveland-Elyria MSA a population of 2,063,132. In 2023, the shift to the new MSA boundaries was implemented in Census data, reporting a population of 2,171,978 in the new Cleveland MSA.
[10] Net job gain since 2023 was 27,380. The three jobs that experienced loss add up to -23,700.
[11] “Still working for too little in Ohio, 2024,” Michael Shields. Policy Matters Ohio. May 1, 2024.
[12] “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” United States Dept. of Agriculture. Updated February 20, 2025.
[13] “Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility,” United States Department of Agriculture. Updated February 19, 2025.
[14] “Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 11.” Department of Health and Human Services. January 17, 2024.
[15] In 2019, the median annual earnings for a Registered Nurse were 308% FPL for a family of three. In 2023, that number was 322% FPL. This year, it was 315% FPL.
[16] Previously, the Youngstown-Warren-Beavercreek MSA, which included Mercer County in Pennsylvania. See Appendix A for MSA Definitions.
[17] See the Economic Policy Institute’s How many federal employees live in your state? Does not include military personnel, only civilian employees. Data based on the 2023 American Community Survey 1-year estimates of civilian employment by class of worker and residence, rescaled to be consistent with January 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Situation estimates. Read more on EPI’s methodology.
[18] Trump’s federal workforce cuts jeopardize the careers of nearly 900,000 veterans and veteran or military spouses, Ben Zipperer. Economic Policy Institute. March 7, 2025.
[19] See: Fiscal Year 2026-2027, Governor Mike DeWine. Introduced February 3, 2025.
[20] “Amid federal chaos, Ohio House abandons kids, moms, and workers,” Policy Matters Ohio. April 10, 2025.
[21] “Free Childcare for Childcare Workers is a better solution to Ohio’s childcare crisis,” Ali Smith. Policy Matters Ohio. February 20, 2025.
[22] “Child labor remains a key state legislative issue in 2024,“ Nina Mast. Economic Policy Institute. February 7, 2024.
[23] ”Department of Labor and Related Agencies.” Jonathon Berry. Project 2025. Page 595.
[24] ”Senate Bill 50,” Tim Schaeffer. The Ohio Legislature 136th General Assembly. Introduced January 28, 2025.
[25] “Deregulating child labor will harm Ohio’s kids,” Heather Smith. Policy Matters Ohio. February 25, 2025.
[26] General and Operations Managers were not included in this calculation, as managers are typically not eligible to be represented by a union.
[27] “Union affiliation data,” Current Population Survey. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2024. Accessed April 15, 2025. Occupational data is categorized as major or detailed. This report analyzes the employment and earnings for the top 10 detailed occupations in Ohio, however union coverage data is only available for major occupations. Major occupations included correlate with detailed occupations: Healthcare practitioners and technical (Registered Nurses), Healthcare support (Home Health and Personal Care Aides), Food preparation and serving related (Fast Food and Counter Workers), Sales and related (Retail Salespeople; Cashiers), Production (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators), and Transportation and material moving (Stockers and Order Fillers; Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand; Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers). Management (General and Operations Managers) occupations are not included in this calculation.
[28] Under the Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations, Healthcare support occupations, Food preparation and serving related occupations, Production occupations, and Transportation and material moving occupations.
[29] “Senate Bill 1,” Honesty for Ohio Education. N.d.
[30] For more information on “right-to-work” laws, see Right to Work, AFL-CIO.
[31] “Senate Bill 8,” Stephen A. Huffman. The Ohio Legislature 136th General Assembly. Introduced January 22, 2025.