Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Ohio (2026)

There is no honest way to rank Ohio cities by rental return without rent data, and this page does not have it. What it does have is transaction evidence: the median price homes actually closed at inside each city's limits, and how many closings happened. That answers the two questions that come before any cash flow analysis, what it costs to get in and whether you can get back out.

What this page measures, and what it does not

Every city below cleared at least 100 closings in its reporting window, which filters out markets too thin to read. They are ranked cheapest first by median closed price, from $90,000 to $160,000. You will not find rent estimates, rent-to-price ratios, cap rates, cash-on-cash projections or gross yield rankings here. Resideline does not have verified rent data for these cities, so publishing those numbers would be invention rather than analysis. Entry price and transaction volume are what the data supports. Every figure describes closings inside the city limits, not the wider postal area that shares the city's name. The two can differ a lot: a postal area usually reaches into surrounding townships, which pulls the median toward whatever those townships are worth. Ohio's statewide median closed price is $258,000 across 92,380 tracked closings.

The rankings

1. Youngstown, $90,000, 400 closings

At $90,000 the entry price is about 35 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 400 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 67 a month. About 96 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Youngstown market page.

2. Canton, $110,350, 606 closings

At $110,350 the entry price is about 43 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 606 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 101 a month. About 92 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Canton market page.

3. Lima, $114,900, 235 closings

At $114,900 the entry price is about 45 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 235 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 39 a month. About 95 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Lima market page.

4. Toledo, $124,700, 2,014 closings

At $124,700 the entry price is about 48 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 2,014 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 336 a month. About 88 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Toledo market page.

5. Warren, $126,000, 258 closings

At $126,000 the entry price is about 49 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 258 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 43 a month. About 89 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Warren market page.

6. Cleveland, $126,200, 2,723 closings

At $126,200 the entry price is about 49 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 2,723 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 454 a month. Full detail is on the Cleveland market page.

7. Marion, $130,000, 276 closings

At $130,000 the entry price is about 50 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 276 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 46 a month. About 91 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Marion market page.

8. Ashtabula, $130,000, 281 closings

At $130,000 the entry price is about 50 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 281 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 23 a month. About 92 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Ashtabula market page.

9. Dayton, $134,950, 1,162 closings

At $134,950 the entry price is about 52 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 1,162 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 194 a month. About 82 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Dayton market page.

10. Akron, $135,000, 1,495 closings

At $135,000 the entry price is about 52 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 1,495 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 249 a month. About 86 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Akron market page.

11. Alliance, $139,950, 186 closings

At $139,950 the entry price is about 54 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 186 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 31 a month. About 95 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Alliance market page.

12. Euclid, $145,000, 387 closings

At $145,000 the entry price is about 56 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 387 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 64 a month. About 82 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Euclid market page.

13. Springfield, $149,900, 494 closings

At $149,900 the entry price is about 58 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 494 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 82 a month. Full detail is on the Springfield market page.

14. Lorain, $160,000, 449 closings

At $160,000 the entry price is about 62 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 449 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 75 a month. About 86 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Lorain market page.

15. Zanesville, $160,000, 238 closings

At $160,000 the entry price is about 62 percent of the Ohio median. Resideline tracked 238 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 40 a month. About 89 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Zanesville market page.

How to use this list

Treat it as a shortlist, not an answer. A citywide median cannot price a specific address: property type, size, condition and location move a number far more than the city line does. Run any address on this list through Resideline for the comparable set behind its value.

Figures last updated August 23, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked.