The local economy of Ohio and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
3.3%
-1.1 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Geauga County 1.5%, highest Trumbull County 5.1%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,417
+4.0%vs a year ago
5,458,346 jobs at 344,589 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
32,282
-5.8%this year vs last year
Most in Franklin County 8,845, Delaware County 2,078.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-6,913
-0.7 per 1,000residents
157,796 moved in and 164,709 moved out. Most newcomers came from Florida.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
Ohio gas price
$3.87
+$0.99vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Henry County $3.68, highest Noble County $4.20. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, Ohio, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
255K
+0.2%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
5.08M
+2.4%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (17.4%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$302.5B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$59,539
Highest sector: Utilities $118,759.
Per employee per year
Share of Ohio's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 424,932 | $20,355 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 275,683 | $75,778 |
| Employment Services | 231,633 | $45,622 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 189,060 | $102,587 |
| Offices of Physicians | 109,120 | $109,662 |
| Warehousing and Storage | 97,712 | $49,351 |
| General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters | 95,096 | $28,873 |
| Grocery Stores | 90,623 | $26,572 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 89,886 | $91,154 |
| Insurance Carriers | 80,880 | $98,410 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) | 79,159 | $38,841 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 72,555 | $73,978 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Ohio, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Ohio is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for Ohio, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in Ohio was 3.3% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.4% a year earlier. 5,662,115 people were employed out of a labor force of 5,857,405. Among its counties, Geauga County had the lowest rate (1.5%) and Trumbull County the highest (5.1%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Ohio was $1,417 in Q1 2026, up 4.0% from a year earlier, across 5,458,346 jobs at 344,589 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 2,476 new homes in Ohio in August 2026 (1,495 single-family and 840 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 21,484, down 5.8% from the same months last year, and 32,282 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Franklin County (8,845), Delaware County (2,078), Clermont County (2,018) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 157,796 people moved to Ohio and 164,709 moved away, a net loss of 6,913 (-0.7 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and most people who left went to Florida, Kentucky, Texas.
Regular gasoline in Ohio averaged $3.87 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $0.99 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.12. Among its counties, Henry County had the lowest regular price ($3.68) and Noble County the highest ($4.20). In the weekly survey, Ohio averaged $3.83 in the week of October 5, 2026.
Health Care and Social Assistance (883,961 employees), Manufacturing (689,133 employees), Retail Trade (560,620 employees) were the largest sectors in Ohio in 2023. In all, 255,049 business locations employed 5,081,279 people at an average pay of $59,539 a year.