Today, Scioto Analysis released its updated Ohio Poverty Measure, an indicator specifically tailored to estimate the extent of poverty in the state of Ohio. Using this measure, we find that in 2021, 8.7% of Ohioans lived in poverty. This is lower than the 12.1% poverty rate according to the Official Poverty Measure and higher than the 8.1% poverty rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the two main poverty measures calculated by the United States Census Bureau.
Among public benefit programs, we estimate social security has the largest impact of any public benefit program in Ohio, lifting over 260,000 Ohioans out of poverty in 2021. The measure also finds SNAP benefits, formerly known as “food stamps,” had a substantial impact on poverty, reducing the statewide poverty rate by nearly two percentage points.
The Ohio Poverty Measure is the most accurate measure of poverty in the state, using methodology inspired by the California Poverty Measure, New York City Poverty Measure, Oregon Poverty Measure, and Wisconsin Poverty Measure. The Ohio Poverty Measure was first calculated by Scioto Analysis in 2021, using data from 2018. This report constitutes the first comprehensive update of that data, giving estimates of poverty from 2021.
The Ohio Poverty Measure estimates the impacts of government assistance, the tax system, and expenses based on geographic cost-of-living differences. Including these adjustments makes the Ohio Poverty Measure more precise than both the Official Poverty Measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure.
According to the Ohio Poverty Measure, Black Ohioans are 75% more likely than White Ohioans to be experiencing poverty, with 14% of Black Ohioans experiencing poverty compared to only 8% of White Ohioans.
Additionally, we also find stark geographic disparities in poverty rates. Ohio residents living in urban core geographic areas and rural Appalachian communities experience poverty at much higher rates than those across the state as a whole. Ohio residents living in suburbs surrounding Ohio’s largest cities experience poverty at much lower rates than residents across the state as a whole.