Dayton vs Omaha
Metro-area medians — Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH Metro Area vs Omaha, NE-IA Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Omaha comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Dayton and Omaha cost about the same to live in, but Omaha households earn about 16% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Omaha.
Their widest everyday difference: Omaha has the tighter job market — 3.7% unemployment versus 4.9%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Dayton leaves you about $1,221/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Omaha for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Average commute
More comparisons
Metros closest to Dayton and Omaha on cost, income, size, and education.
Dayton vs Omaha — frequently asked
- Is Dayton cheaper than Omaha?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Dayton and Omaha metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Dayton or Omaha?
- Omaha has the higher median household income — $84,524 versus $72,711 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 16% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Dayton or Omaha?
- A paycheck stretches further in Omaha. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $91,963 there versus $78,442 in Dayton.
- Which has cheaper rent, Dayton or Omaha?
- Dayton has cheaper rent — a median of $1,119/mo versus $1,230/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).