COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) — Ohio has suffered the steepest decline in homeownership affordability in the country, with the share of occupations earning enough to buy a typically priced home dropping from 67% in 2020 to just 26% in 2025, according to a new report from the National Housing Conference. T he report, titled “Priced Out: When a Good Job Isn’t Enough,” found that the number of occupations able to afford a typical home with a 10% down payment fell nearly 41% across Ohio’s metropolitan areas over five years. The findings point to growing financial pressure on working families, including teachers, firefighters, emergency medical workers and postal employees who increasingly cannot afford homes in the communities they serve. The loss of buying power is also affecting the rental market. The report found that 77% of occupations in Ohio could afford a two-bedroom apartment in 2020, compared with 69% in 2025, as more people remain renters because they cannot afford to purchase a home. “This report shows that home ownership is becoming a luxury in Ohio, and that jobs that used to be considered solidly middle class — like being a firefighter or mail carrier — are getting shut out of the American dream,” said Marcus Roth, spokesperson for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. Mansfield experienced the state’s largest decline in homeownership affordability. A typically priced home there cost $115,041 in 2020, requiring an annual income of $28,483 to qualify for a mortgage under the report’s assumptions. By 2025, the typical home price had climbed to $188,863, while the required income had risen to $62,931 — an increase of 121%. The shift has changed which workers can realistically afford to buy a home in Mansfield. Elementary and special education teachers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, firefighters and postal service mail carriers could afford a typical home in 2020. By 2025, firefighters, postal carriers, executive secretaries and loan officers had lost the ability to afford one, according to the report. “In Mansfield, more than four out of five occupations could afford a typical home just five years ago,” National Housing Conference President and CEO David M. Dworkin said. “Today, fewer than one in three can.” Dworkin said the consequences reach beyond individual households, affecting employers and communities that depend on essential workers. “When teachers, firefighters, EMTs, postal workers and other essential workers are increasingly priced out of the communities they serve, it is not just a housing problem—it is a workforce and economic problem,” he said. Mansfield was not alone. Cleveland, Springfield, Toledo and Akron also ranked among the 25 metropolitan areas with the largest declines in homeownership affordability nationwide. The report found that the average annual salary among occupations that lost the ability to afford a typical home with a 10% down payment between 2020 and 2025 was $70,283, underscoring how the affordability crisis has expanded beyond lower-wage workers. Dworkin said Ohio needs to increase the supply of homes that workers can afford, including housing near employment centers. He also called for reducing unnecessary development costs and delays and coordinating federal, state and local policies to increase housing availability. “A good job should still provide a realistic path to a stable, affordable home,” Dworkin said. The decline in homeownership affordability is also adding pressure to Ohio’s rental market, according to Roth. People who would otherwise buy homes are staying in apartments and rental properties longer, increasing competition for available units. “There’s a huge (rental housing) shortage, so with so many more people that used to be in that category of homeowners or future homeowners now are solidly renters,” Roth said. “That increased demand has driven up the cost of rents, so we’re seeing the impact in the rental market too.” A full-time Ohio worker needs to earn at least $23.82 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to the annual Out of Reach report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio accrording to WBNS 10-TV. The state also faces a shortage of approximately 266,000 affordable and available rental homes, according to the 2026 Gap Report from the two organizations. That shortage further limits options for households unable to buy homes or secure rentals at prices they can manage. The latest findings suggest Ohio’s housing affordability problems are increasingly affecting workers across a range of occupations, putting homeownership out of reach for many households that could afford it just a few years ago. With fewer workers able to buy homes, demand for rentals continues to grow, adding another layer of pressure to a market already short of affordable units. Housing advocates say expanding the supply of homes and apartments at prices working families can afford will be critical to reversing the trend. The post Ohio Leads Nation in Declining Homeownership Affordability, New Report Finds appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less