Dayton vs Syracuse
Metro-area medians — Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH Metro Area vs Syracuse, NY Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Syracuse comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 6 clearly-decided measures.
Dayton is about 3% cheaper to live in, while Syracuse households earn about 5% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.
Their widest everyday difference: Syracuse is more educated — 37.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree versus 34.6%.
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 $4,330/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 Syracuse for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Median household income
- + Median home value
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
More comparisons
Metros closest to Dayton and Syracuse on cost, income, size, and education.
Dayton vs Syracuse — frequently asked
- Is Dayton cheaper than Syracuse?
- Dayton is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 3% below Syracuse's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Dayton or Syracuse?
- Syracuse has the higher median household income — $76,313 versus $72,711 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 5% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Dayton or Syracuse?
- It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($78,442 versus $79,707).
- Which has cheaper rent, Dayton or Syracuse?
- Rents are close — $1,119/mo in the Dayton metro versus $1,114/mo in Syracuse (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).