Does the Average Social Security Check Cover the Basics for Older Ohioans? A 2026 ALICE Report Gives Answers
A single Ohioan 65 or older needs about $31,068 a year just to cover the basics.
Retirement checks don’t always stretch that far, and senior-led households are Ohio’s fastest-growing age group.
Here’s what the 2026 ALICE report found about Ohio households led by seniors, and what the basics really cost.
Note: This is general information, not financial advice. Dollar amounts and benefit rules are subject to change.
Who Ran the Numbers and How
The 2026 report on Ohio comes from United For ALICE, a research group tied to United Way, and ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
United Way of Central Ohio and other Ohio United Ways sponsored the report.
The news site WYTV covered its release in June 2026.
The figures describe 2024.
The income data comes from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, a sample of homes and people, so the numbers you’ll see here are estimates.
What the Threshold Counts
In these figures, a household’s age is the age of whoever heads it.
A household falls below the Threshold in one of two ways.
Either it’s in poverty, or it’s an ALICE household that earns more than the federal poverty level but less than the basic cost of living in its county.
Among Ohio’s senior-led households, 12% were in poverty and 34% were in the ALICE group in 2024.
Rounding leaves those pieces a point short of the 47% total.
That 34% earns above the poverty line, so a poverty-only count would miss them.
Statewide, across households of every age, 37% (1,792,474) were below the Threshold.
Inside the $31,068 Budget
The Survival Budget for a single Ohioan 65 or older comes to $31,068 a year.
Housing is the largest monthly line at $775.
Health care comes next at $500, which adds up to $6,000 a year.
That line covers Medicare Parts A and B, out-of-pocket costs, and average spending on the top five chronic diseases.
Food runs $410, or roughly $13 to $14 a day.
Transportation takes $295.
Technology ($112), taxes ($288) and a 10% miscellaneous line ($209) round out the list.
Together, the monthly lines come to $2,589.
Those are state averages, so your county’s lines may differ.
Paying for that budget with a job takes $15.53 an hour, based on 40 hours a week for 50 weeks.
How the ALICE Threshold Gets Set
The ALICE Threshold comes from the Household Survival Budget, which reflects the minimum costs of household necessities.
United For ALICE prices that budget for every county, so the dollar line changes with where a household lives.
A single adult from 18 to 64 has a $27,732 budget, so the 65 and older budget runs $3,336 higher.
Housing costs the same $775 in both.
Health care alone runs $309 more a month in the 65 and older budget, though lower food and transportation costs offset part of it.
Rent, Premiums, and Benefits
The budget’s $775 housing line sits below the Census Bureau’s $1,034 median gross rent for Ohio renters from 2020 to 2024.
Medicare’s standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026.
Set against the budget’s 2024 health care line of $500, the premium alone would take about $203 of it.
The Social Security Administration reports the average retired worker’s benefit at about $2,075 a month in January 2026.
That’s a national figure for 2026, while the report’s $2,589 budget is an Ohio figure for 2024, so the two aren’t a perfect match.
Still, the average benefit sits about $515 below the $2,589 monthly budget.
Over a year, a retiree living on an average check alone could fall about $6,200 short.
A 39% Rise in Senior Households
Households headed by someone 65 or older were the fastest-growing age group in Ohio between 2010 and 2024, up 39%.
Households headed by someone under 25 (61%) and by someone 65 or older (47%) had among the highest shares below the Threshold in 2024.
The number of those older households below the Threshold fell by nearly 3% from 2023 to 2024, though it still rose between 2010 and 2024.
Psst! How much do you know about the costs and benefits that come with turning 65? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
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Answer these questions on Medicare costs, Ohio tax breaks, and senior benefits. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Ohio’s tax department says Social Security benefits aren’t taxed by the state. What do you have to do on your Ohio return to keep them out of taxable income?
Ohio's Senior Tax Breaks
Ohio doesn't tax Social Security benefits, but you have to claim a deduction for them on the Ohio Schedule of Adjustments.
At 65 or older, you can get a $50 senior citizen credit on your school district income tax return.
On your state return, you may also claim the senior citizen credit or the lump sum distribution credit.
Homeowners 65 or older can also look at the homestead exemption, which has an income limit of $41,000 in modified adjusted gross income for tax year 2026.
It reduces the taxes charged on up to $29,700 of a home's market value, and you file with your county auditor.
Costs Since the 2024 Data
The report notes that its data doesn't reflect policy or funding changes made since 2024.
The 2026 Part A hospital deductible is $1,736, up $60 from 2025.
The Part B deductible is $283, up $26.
Medicare's standard Part B premium, for one, rose $17.90 in 2026, up from $185.00 in 2025.
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