See what workers in Ohio earn by education level and by major, and lists the Ohio colleges alphabetically. Compare with the national picture or pick another state.

Median earnings by education level in Ohio

Median yearly wage or salary of full-time, year-round employees ages 25 to 64, in 2024 dollars.

Less than high school$41,600
High school diploma or GED$50,700
Some college or associate's$55,800
Bachelor's degree$78,200
Master's or higher$91,400

Unemployment rate by education level in Ohio

Less than high school6.4%
High school diploma or GED3.9%
Some college or associate's3.5%
Bachelor's degree2.0%
Master's or higher1.5%

Median earnings by field of bachelor's degree in Ohio

Full-time, year-round employees ages 25 to 64 with a bachelor's degree or higher, grouped by the field of their bachelor's degree.

Fields with the highest median earnings

Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration$126,900
Chemical Engineering$121,800
Management Information Systems and Statistics$121,800
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering$118,800
Civil Engineering$116,800
Electrical Engineering$111,700
Miscellaneous Engineering$111,700
Operations Logistics and E-Commerce$111,700
Finance$111,700
Computer Engineering$110,700
Mechanical Engineering$109,600
Biochemical Sciences$106,600

Fields with the lowest median earnings

Social Work$56,900
Theology and Religious Vocations$59,900
Liberal Arts$60,900
Special Needs Education$60,900
Early Childhood Education$60,900
Mass Media$60,900
Health and Medical Administrative Services$62,900
Fine Arts$64,000
Drama and Theater Arts$65,000
Music$66,000
English Language and Literature$66,000
Family and Consumer Sciences$66,000

College costs in Ohio

The typical published price at Ohio's four-year colleges. Tuition and fees are the in-state sticker price; cost of attendance adds books, room and board and other expenses (on campus). These are medians across colleges, each counted once; most students pay less than the sticker price after grants and scholarships.

Median tuition and fees, public four-year colleges

$7,492

In-state, 2024-25; 48 colleges

Median cost of attendance, public four-year colleges

$29,412

On campus, 2024-25; 18 colleges

Median tuition and fees, private nonprofit four-year colleges

$35,634

In-state, 2024-25; 60 colleges

Median cost of attendance, private nonprofit four-year colleges

$53,248

On campus, 2024-25; 50 colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, IPEDS Cost component, 2024-25 published charges (provisional); medians are MajorPays' calculation. The Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays' presentation. See each college's page for its own figures; colleges are listed alphabetically and are not ranked.

Higher education in Ohio

How large the state’s higher education sector is. These are counts, not a measure of quality, and MajorPays does not rank states or colleges.

Colleges and universities

270

107 public, 76 private nonprofit, 87 private for-profit (institutions in the federal IPEDS directory; a few may not take part in federal student aid) See the colleges on a map (the map shows the schools that have a MajorPays page).

Students enrolled, fall 2024

625,889

All levels, headcount reported by the colleges

Degrees and certificates awarded, 2023-24

172,825

Including 65,193 bachelor's degrees; first majors; provisional

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics directory (HD 2024), Fall Enrollment 2024 and Completions 2023-24 (provisional release that includes estimates for institutions that did not respond); added up by MajorPays across the colleges in each state. The Department of Education has not endorsed this presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice. See Data sources.

Economic output of Ohio

How large the state economy is and which industries produce its output. Industries are listed alphabetically; MajorPays does not rank industries or states.

Gross domestic product, 2025

$976.9 billion

U.S.: $30.9 trillion; current dollars

Real GDP growth, 2025

+2.4%

Inflation-adjusted, from 2024; U.S.: +2.3%

IndustryShare of Ohio GDPShare of U.S. GDP
Accommodation and food services2.5%3.1%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services2.8%3.0%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting0.7%0.8%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation0.9%1.0%
Construction4.2%4.3%
Educational services0.8%1.1%
Finance and insurance13.3%8.7%
Government and government enterprises10.0%11.1%
Health care and social assistance8.5%7.5%
Information2.6%5.7%
Management of companies and enterprises2.9%1.8%
Manufacturing13.6%9.5%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction0.3%1.3%
Other services (except government and government enterprises)2.1%2.0%
Professional, scientific, and technical services5.5%8.0%
Real estate and rental and leasing12.2%13.7%
Retail trade5.9%5.9%
Transportation and warehousing3.2%3.3%
Utilities1.7%1.6%
Wholesale trade6.4%6.3%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, GDP by state (current-dollar GDP by industry and real GDP, 2025; BEA revises these estimates). Shares are each industry’s GDP divided by the state total (MajorPays calculation). Output measures the size of an economy, not how well residents are doing. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; BEA has not approved or endorsed this presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice. See Data sources.

Jobs by industry in Ohio

How many people work in each broad industry group and how that changed over the past year. Listed alphabetically; MajorPays does not rank industries or states. Total nonfarm jobs: 5,712.4 thousand (+0.2% from a year earlier).

Industry groupJobs, thousands (Aug 2026)Change from a year earlier
Construction289.4+7.0%
Education and health services991.7-0.1%
Financial activities310.4-0.9%
Government763.2-0.7%
Information63.9-2.7%
Leisure and hospitality598.4-0.2%
Manufacturing688.8+1.7%
Mining and logging9.4+3.3%
Other services211.8-0.7%
Professional and business services733.9-0.6%
Trade, transportation and utilities1,051.5+0.1%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (state and area), not seasonally adjusted; the latest months are preliminary and are revised. Industry groups that BLS does not publish for a state are left out. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; BLS has not approved or endorsed this presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice. See Data sources.

Fall enrollment at colleges in Ohio

How many students were enrolled each fall in degree-granting colleges and universities located in Ohio, for selected years, next to the United States total. The last column is the published change from fall 2017 to fall 2022. Counts are by the state where the college is located; they count students, not degrees, and do not say how well any college does.

Fall 1990Fall 2000Fall 2010Fall 2017Fall 2022Change, 2017 to 2022
Ohio557,690549,553745,115649,586612,352-5.7%
United States13,818,63715,312,28921,019,43819,778,15118,580,026-6.1%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 304.10 (HEGIS and IPEDS fall enrollment surveys; through 1990 the table covers institutions of higher education, later years degree-granting institutions). MajorPays selected these years and did not recalculate them; NCES has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Median wage by occupation group in Ohio

The middle annual wage of employees in each of the 22 broad occupation groups, next to the U.S. median for the same group. Listed alphabetically; MajorPays does not rank occupations or states. A dash means the Bureau of Labor Statistics withholds the figure or reports it only as $239,200 or more.

Occupation groupOhioUnited States
Architecture and Engineering Occupations$95,090$99,520
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations$51,720$62,750
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations$36,520$37,680
Business and Financial Operations Occupations$78,500$82,660
Community and Social Service Occupations$53,540$58,300
Computer and Mathematical Occupations$100,200$109,280
Construction and Extraction Occupations$62,140$59,540
Educational Instruction and Library Occupations$61,110$60,570
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations$39,840$36,630
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations$30,300$35,050
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations$80,820$86,530
Healthcare Support Occupations$37,530$38,340
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations$59,810$59,620
Legal Occupations$92,830$102,500
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations$79,160$82,530
Management Occupations$105,770$126,520
Office and Administrative Support Occupations$46,650$47,450
Personal Care and Service Occupations$32,250$36,410
Production Occupations$47,180$46,990
Protective Service Occupations$52,030$50,080
Sales and Related Occupations$36,450$38,530
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations$42,880$44,350

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national estimates; employees, not the self-employed; annual figures for hourly workers assume 2,080 hours a year). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; BLS has not approved or endorsed this presentation. For one career, see its career page.

Job market in Ohio

How hard employers are hiring and how many workers belong to unions. Job openings, hires and quits are 12-month averages (Jan 2025 - Dec 2025); union membership is for 2025.

Job openings rate

4.7%

U.S.: 4.3%

Hires rate

3.3%

U.S.: 3.3%

Quits rate

2.3%

U.S.: 2.0%

Union membership rate

11.6%

U.S.: 10.0%

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), state estimates, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted rates as a percent of employment (model-based and revised); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Union Members, 2025 annual averages (survey estimates with sampling error). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Economy in Ohio

Pay and jobs by industry and how home prices have changed, from federal data. Industries are listed alphabetically; MajorPays does not rank industries or states.

Average annual pay per job

$68,298

BLS QCEW 2025; U.S.: $78,720

Jobs covered by unemployment insurance

5,534,587

BLS QCEW 2025 annual average, all industries including government

Home price change, 2020 to 2025

+53.2%

FHFA House Price Index; +4.8% in the last year; +93.4% from 2015 to 2025

Personal income per person, 2025

$67,584

U.S.: $77,028; +4.7% from 2024, +27.9% from 2020, not adjusted for inflation (BEA)

Jobs located here, 2025

5,534,587

Average pay per job $68,298 a year at 347,138 employers; +0.3% from 2024 (BLS)

Price level, 2024

92.8

Housing 73.0; U.S. = 100 (BEA regional price parities)

Residents enrolled in college

660,459

5.8% of residents 3 and older (±6,422); U.S. 6.6%; ACS 2020-2024

Adults 25 to 34 with a bachelor's or higher

36.1%

±0.4; U.S. 39.6%; ACS 2020-2024

People ages 18 to 24

9.0%

1,073,107 people in July 2025, -2.6% since July 2020; Census population estimates

Moved in from another state or abroad, bachelor's or higher

2.6%

Of adults 25+ with a bachelor's or higher, the share who lived in another state or abroad a year earlier (±0.1); 1.4% (±0.1) among adults without one; ACS 2020-2024

Poverty rate by education, adults 25 and over

EducationOhioUnited States
Less than high school28.4% (±0.6)24.2%
High school graduate14.2% (±0.2)14.4%
Some college or associate's degree10.5% (±0.2)9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher4.2% (±0.1)4.5%

Share of people with income below the federal poverty level, by the highest education they have completed (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table B17003; margins of error at the 90% level in parentheses). A description of who lives here, not a prediction for any person.

What residents with a bachelor’s degree studied

Field of first majorOhioUnited States
Science and engineering31.5%36.1%
Science and engineering related fields12.2%10.0%
Business20.8%20.1%
Education14.3%10.9%
Arts, humanities and other21.2%23.0%

Share of adults 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree, by the field of their first major (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Table C15010; the Census Bureau’s own groups, listed in a fixed order, not ranked; margins of error at most 0.3 points). A description of who lives here, not a prediction for any person.

Monthly pay by education in Ohio

IndustryLess than high schoolHigh schoolSome college or associate degreeBachelor's degree or higher
All private-sector industries$5,099$5,395$5,844$8,381
Accommodation and food services$2,523$2,545$2,633$2,772
Administrative and support and waste management services$3,943$4,299$4,600$6,086
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting$4,384$4,380$4,494$4,960
Arts, entertainment, and recreation$5,151$4,629$4,466$5,350
Construction$6,669$6,964$7,309$8,309
Educational services$3,751$3,688$3,879$4,796
Finance and insurance$7,017$7,075$7,763$12,477
Health care and social assistance$4,762$4,765$5,208$8,010
Information$7,888$7,870$8,367$11,328
Management of companies and enterprises$6,965$7,294$8,022$13,475
Manufacturing$5,709$6,081$6,655$8,833
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction$7,387$7,365$7,778$9,179
Other services (except public administration)$3,917$4,060$4,224$5,127
Professional, scientific, and technical services$7,666$7,515$7,910$10,721
Real estate and rental and leasing$5,011$5,190$5,563$7,512
Retail trade$4,013$4,218$4,461$5,052
Transportation and warehousing$5,052$5,430$5,694$6,996
Utilities$9,465$9,559$9,946$12,587
Wholesale trade$6,361$6,727$7,568$10,926

Average monthly earnings of private-sector workers age 25 and over who held a job for the full quarter, by highest education, averaged over 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3 (U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators; averages in whole dollars that include bonuses, not medians; the Census Bureau adds noise to protect confidentiality and statistically imputes workers’ education, and the pay is before taxes; a dash means the figure is not published or the group is small). It shows what workers with that education are paid here, not what any person would earn.

Private-sector industryJobsAverage annual payU.S. average annual pay
Accommodation and food services481,834$23,952$30,773
Administrative and support and waste management services289,453$52,174$59,961
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting19,818$51,611$48,809
Arts, entertainment, and recreation88,244$46,756$52,217
Construction259,526$84,976$84,826
Educational services93,715$48,794$65,875
Finance and insurance230,163$112,837$153,041
Health care and social assistance869,236$63,770$66,522
Information65,612$106,907$190,981
Management of companies and enterprises153,537$132,455$166,048
Manufacturing675,735$79,276$89,471
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction8,597$90,544$133,525
Other services (except public administration)158,907$46,614$54,422
Professional, scientific, and technical services287,672$105,271$135,280
Real estate and rental and leasing69,443$67,904$80,265
Retail trade538,214$38,832$43,458
Transportation and warehousing253,154$63,985$68,815
Utilities18,621$127,929$141,218
Wholesale trade234,466$95,280$105,823

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages (jobs covered by unemployment insurance; average annual pay is total wages divided by average jobs, includes bonuses and is pay per job, not per person; industries the Bureau withholds to protect privacy are omitted, so 19 of 19 private sectors are shown here); U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index datasets, annual state index (all-transactions; it measures how prices of repeat-sale and refinanced single-family homes changed, not the price level; the changes are not adjusted for inflation, and FHFA labels the annual state index developmental; MajorPays computed the changes from the published index). Monthly pay by education: U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (public-use files, private ownership, stable jobs, workers 25 and over). Personal income per person: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (current dollars; revised). Jobs located here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages (jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the state; average pay includes bonuses and high earners, so it is not a median or what a graduate earns; revised). Price level: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (the average price of goods and services in the state compared with the whole U.S., which is 100; estimates are revised). People ages 18 to 24: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025 county population by age (July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2020; estimates are revised, and changes can swing widely where college students live). Poverty by education and new arrivals: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Tables B17003, C15010, B15001, B14001 and B07009 (adults 25 and over; margins of error shown at the 90% level). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; none of these agencies has approved or endorsed this presentation. MajorPays does not provide advice. See Data sources.

Counties in Ohio

Pay by education, rent, jobs and health-care access for each county: see all 78 counties in Ohio.

Colleges in Ohio

Listed alphabetically to start; MajorPays does not rank colleges. Click a column heading to sort; shift-click more headings to sort by several columns as a group. Median earnings of students 10 years after they first entered the college (students who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled), from the College Scorecard; colleges with at least 150 students in that group (106 listed).

CollegeMedian earnings, 10 years after entry
American Institute of Alternative Medicine$40,805
Antioch University$51,541
Ashland University$52,928
ATA College-Cincinnati$34,577
Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences$63,582
Baldwin Wallace University$54,122
Bluffton University$49,547
Bowling Green State University-Firelands$47,896
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus$47,896
Bryant & Stratton College-Parma$32,568
Capital University$54,143
Case Western Reserve University$87,989
Cedarville University$55,443
Central Ohio Technical College$39,168
Central State University$33,267
Chamberlain University-Ohio$92,405
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College$40,137
Clark State College$39,584
Cleveland Institute of Art$42,509
Cleveland State University$52,131
Columbus College of Art & Design$40,664
Columbus State Community College$39,435
Davis College$31,588
Defiance College$49,351
Denison University$67,753
DeVry University-Ohio$45,987
Edison State Community College$41,360
Franciscan University of Steubenville$50,030
Franklin University$51,892
Galen College of Nursing-Cincinnati$61,480
Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science$66,111
Heidelberg University$48,466
Herzing University-Akron$36,909
Hiram College$54,311
James A. Rhodes State College$41,855
John Carroll University$62,860
Kent State University at Ashtabula$45,388
Kent State University at East Liverpool$45,388
Kent State University at Geauga$45,388
Kent State University at Kent$45,388
Kent State University at Salem$45,388
Kent State University at Stark$45,388
Kent State University at Trumbull$45,388
Kent State University at Tuscarawas$45,388
Kenyon College$71,830
Kettering College$67,492
Lake Erie College$50,417
Lorain County Community College$38,837
Lourdes University$48,150
Malone University$48,909
Marietta College$57,180
Marion Technical College$41,495
Mercy College of Ohio$65,409
Miami University-Hamilton$55,076
Miami University-Middletown$55,076
Miami University-Oxford$55,076
Mount Carmel College of Nursing$75,103
Mount St. Joseph University$51,509
Mount Vernon Nazarene University$49,555
Muskingum University$48,440
North Central State College$38,158
Oberlin College$58,343
Ohio Christian University$39,813
Ohio Dominican University$51,748
Ohio Northern University$80,928
Ohio State University-Lima Campus$60,409
Ohio State University-Main Campus$60,409
Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus$60,409
Ohio State University-Marion Campus$60,409
Ohio State University-Newark Campus$60,409
Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus$52,581
Ohio University-Eastern Campus$52,581
Ohio University-Lancaster Campus$52,581
Ohio University-Main Campus$52,581
Ohio University-Southern Campus$52,581
Ohio University-Zanesville Campus$52,581
Ohio Wesleyan University$55,624
Otterbein University$53,313
Professional Skills Institute$47,765
Shawnee State University$39,596
Sinclair Community College$37,558
The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences$68,303
The College of Wooster$59,629
The University of Findlay$56,996
Tiffin University$35,942
University of Akron Main Campus$46,600
University of Akron Wayne College$46,600
University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College$54,810
University of Cincinnati-Clermont College$54,810
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus$54,810
University of Dayton$75,537
University of Mount Union$53,217
University of Northwestern Ohio$50,968
University of Rio Grande$41,478
University of Toledo$50,632
Ursuline College$56,878
Walsh University$59,764
Washington State College of Ohio$37,988
Wilberforce University$38,298
Wilmington College$48,491
Wittenberg University$54,947
Wright State University-Lake Campus$49,500
Wright State University-Main Campus$49,500
Xavier University$64,873
Youngstown State University$41,544
Zane State College$35,006

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard (June 2026 release), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution. MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; the Department has not endorsed them. The figures say nothing about how much each college added to its students' earnings.

Majors at Ohio colleges, with graduate earnings

For each field of study, the median across Ohio schools of their bachelor's graduates' median earnings four years after graduation (fields offered at 3 or more Ohio schools, programs with at least 30 graduates measured). Click a field for national details.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard (June 2026 release), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution. MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; the Department has not endorsed them. Earnings are for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; they describe where graduates studied, not what a school added.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample. The medians and rates are MajorPays' own estimates from that survey (Census is credited only as the source of the original data, and has not endorsed them). Earnings are wages and salaries of employees working 35+ hours a week and 48+ weeks a year, in 2024 dollars; a figure appears only with enough survey respondents. Survey estimates carry sampling error, larger for small groups. Field of degree is the subject of the bachelor's degree, even for people whose highest degree is higher. What a degree is worth for any one person depends on much more than the field or the level: the school, the job, the place, and the person.