Whether you’re paying rent, shopping for groceries or writing the check to your child’s day care, many families are feeling the strain on their wallets recently.


What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies released the 2024 State of Poverty in Ohio Report

  • In 2022, Ohio's poverty rate was 13.4%, compared to the national rate of 12.6%

  • The focus in this report was on child poverty

  • Ohio's childhood poverty rate is at 17.7%

Ohio ranks 12th in the U.S. for poverty rate, staying at 13.4% in 2022 compared to the national rate of 12.6%. That’s according to the 2024 State of Poverty in Ohio Report from the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies.

Overall poverty

In a letter from Executive Director Philip Cole, he said to do something about poverty in Ohio, we first need to understand the causes and effects.

“That is why for over 30 years, the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies has researched poverty in our state and reported trends affecting our neighbors,” Cole wrote. “This report aims to shed light on some of the barriers to self-sufficiency so that we can use that information to create viable solutions.”

He said the poverty rate from the U.S. Census Bureau doesn't reflect temporary losses of income (also known as episodic poverty) stemming from job loss, health complications or other causes.

 

The report states the disparity between Ohio’s rate and the national rate has been growing since 2015.

The report highlights the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a more holistic way of looking at the income needed for a household to “subsist without any additional public or private assistance.”

“This measure has consistently indicated that, within Ohio, families with a single minimum-wage worker cannot make ends meet in any county, and most families of four would need an income at least one and a half times higher than the Federal Poverty Level to be self-sufficient,” the report reads.

The report also discussed the Ohio Well-Being Dashboard, which looks at various "socioeconomic and poverty indicators" across the state. Those indicators include the poverty rate, unemployment rate, four-year high school graduation rate and the percent of students on free/reduced lunch.

The counties are graded on a level one through four, one being that none of the metrics worsened significantly and four being that four or more have significantly worsened.

Two counties—Cuyahoga and Gallia—were rated level four in this report. There were 24 counties in level three and 37 in level one. That leaves 25 in level two to reach Ohio's 88 counties. The report notes that there were only 30 counties at level one in the 2021 report.

Child poverty

Cole says in his letter that they wanted to focus on child poverty for this report, noting that “high housing costs, food insecurity and maternity care access” can have long-term effects on kids.

“Such impacts include delays in reaching developmental milestones, increased risk for behavioral and emotional problems, adverse effects on academic performance, and social and emotional trauma,” Cole wrote.

While Ohio’s overall poverty rate hovers at 13.4%, the childhood poverty rate for 2022 is higher at 17.7%. That’s compared to 18.8% in 2019 and 16.6% in 2020.

That increased burden of poverty on children is felt nationally too, as the report states that 35.1% of children endured episodic poverty, compared to just more than 27% of people overall.

 

A significant percentage of people's income tends to go toward their housing.

A total of 23% of Ohio children find themselves in “cost-burdened households,” which the report defines as needing to spend more than 30% of income on housing costs. The report also states that 53% of kids in low-income families are cost-burdened.

There are several concerns that stem from the insecurity of a cost-burdened household ranging from health (mental and physical) to education and more.

“These adverse outcomes not only affect the child at the moment but also make it more difficult for them to escape poverty as an adult and increase the likelihood that the cycle of poverty continues to the next generation,” the report reads.

Food insecurity

Ohio’s food insecurity rate is 11.8% overall, and 14.8% for children.

The report highlights the increased cost of food since COVID-19, as well as a “reduction in food assistance programs” such as SNAP benefit expansions.

 

“Food banks across the state—from Columbus to Toledo and Dayton to Cleveland—have reported record demand for their services, eclipsing even the demand seen in the first year of the COVID pandemic.”

Health care

The state’s child uninsured rate is 4.6%, according to the report. That percentage is higher for those in families below 138% of the poverty threshold (5.3%) and even higher for those between 138-250% of the poverty threshold (5.6%).

The report also highlights Ohio’s ongoing struggle with a high infant mortality rate, which they say was the eighth highest in the U.S. for 2021 and 2022. It states that the rate is 2.6 time higher for Black Ohioans than white.

 

“It has been established that risk factors for infant mortality include poverty, living in resource-poor areas, and smoking,” the report reads. “County-level data show the link between poverty and infant mortality.”

The report cited the Ohio Hospital Association in referencing the closure of 28 labor/delivery service providers in the past 10 years, 17 of which occurred in the past four.

“In the United States, Ohio had the most women, approximately 97,000, impacted by overall reductions in access to care over two years,” the report reads.