The short answer
A typical Ohio homeowner pays about $1,500 to $2,500 a year per $100,000 of home value before credits, or roughly 1.5% to 2.5%. The statewide average effective rate for homes and farms is about 52.7 mills for tax year 2025. The inner-ring Cleveland suburbs are the most expensive in the state. Shaker Heights tops $3,800 per $100,000.
Three things make Ohio bills confusing:
- You're taxed on 35% of value. The county auditor sets a market value, and your taxable (assessed) value is 35% of it.
- Rates are in mills. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.
- The "full" rate isn't what you pay. Under a 1976 law (HB 920), voted levies are automatically scaled back when values rise, so each levy raises roughly what voters approved. The scaled-back number is the effective rate, and it's often half the full rate.
The quick formula: tax per $100,000 of market value = effective mills × 35. That's before the 10% and 2.5% rollbacks and any homestead exemption.
Tax rates in Ohio's major cities
These are residential rates for each city's main tax district, from the county auditors' tax year 2025 rate sheets (bills paid in 2026). The total includes county, city, school district, library and other levies.
| City | County | Full mills | Effective mills | Tax per $100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaker Heights | Cuyahoga | 243.01 | 109.79 | $3,843 |
| Cleveland Heights | Cuyahoga | 203.45 | 90.54 | $3,169 |
| Cleveland | Cuyahoga | 137.23 | 72.14 | $2,525 |
| Lakewood | Cuyahoga | 165.16 | 71.48 | $2,502 |
| Cincinnati | Hamilton | 106.52 | 69.24 | $2,423 |
| Akron | Summit | 117.04 | 68.88 | $2,411 |
| Euclid | Cuyahoga | 134.25 | 68.27 | $2,389 |
| Toledo | Lucas | n/a | 62.12 | $2,174 |
| Cuyahoga Falls | Summit | 107.85 | 60.67 | $2,123 |
| Parma | Cuyahoga | 100.47 | 56.73 | $1,986 |
| Elyria | Lorain | 93.84 | 54.15 | $1,895 |
| Youngstown | Mahoning | 73.48 | 47.32 | $1,656 |
| Lorain | Lorain | 89.18 | 44.02 | $1,541 |
| Mentor | Lake | 102.62 | 43.01 | $1,505 |
Lakewood's full rate (165 mills) is more than twice Youngstown's, but its effective rate is only about 50% higher. Mentor has a full rate above 100 mills and one of the lowest effective rates on the list. That's the HB 920 reduction at work: the more values have grown since a levy passed, the more it's scaled back. Comparing full rates between cities will mislead you.
Cincinnati's auditor also publishes the bill after credits: $2,150 per $100,000 for an owner-occupied home in tax year 2025, about 11% below the gross figure.
Columbus and Franklin County
Franklin County's tax year 2025 rate sheet wasn't available when we checked, so these are tax year 2024 figures (bills paid in 2025):
| City | Full mills | Effective mills | Tax per $100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin (Dublin schools) | 145.04 | 71.90 | $2,516 |
| Westerville | 128.80 | 63.58 | $2,225 |
| Columbus (Columbus schools) | 115.89 | 49.62 | $1,737 |
Expect 2025 to be higher. Franklin County's average effective residential rate rose from 55.01 mills to about 61.6 in 2025, the biggest jump among the large counties, and the increase came mostly from non-school levies. Columbus is a reminder that a big city isn't always the expensive option: its rate is well below several of its suburbs.
Average effective rates by county
These are county-wide averages for residential and agricultural property, before the 10% and 2.5% rollbacks. Tax year 2025 figures are calculated from the Department of Taxation's tax abstract (the same method reproduces the department's published 2024 table exactly).
| County | Main city | 2025 effective mills | 2024 effective mills | Tax per $100,000 (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | Dayton | 69.18 | 68.67 | $2,421 |
| Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 67.93 | 68.49 | $2,378 |
| Lucas | Toledo | 64.00 | 63.19 | $2,240 |
| Franklin | Columbus | 61.59 | 55.01 | $2,156 |
| Summit | Akron | 60.24 | 59.87 | $2,108 |
| Hamilton | Cincinnati | 58.95 | 58.31 | $2,063 |
| Delaware | Delaware | 56.46 | $1,976 | |
| Lake | Mentor | 53.15 | $1,860 | |
| Lorain | Lorain, Elyria | 51.61 | 51.28 | $1,806 |
| Mahoning | Youngstown | 50.87 | 51.26 | $1,780 |
| Stark | Canton | 48.15 | 46.04 | $1,685 |
| Clark | Springfield | 47.35 | $1,657 | |
| Warren | Lebanon, Mason | 47.35 | $1,657 | |
| Licking | Newark | 46.27 | $1,619 | |
| Butler | Hamilton, Middletown | 45.94 | 45.62 | $1,608 |
| Statewide | 52.67 | 52.44 | $1,843 |
The lowest county averages are in rural southeast Ohio: Lawrence (32.03), Monroe (32.34) and Noble (33.32). Farmland taxed under the CAUV program pulls rural averages down, so a house in those counties may pay more than the average suggests.
The most and least expensive places around Cleveland
Cuyahoga County has the widest spread in the state. Tax year 2025 effective residential rates:
| Highest | Effective mills | Lowest | Effective mills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland (Shaker Heights schools) | 112.29 | Independence | 51.70 |
| Shaker Heights | 109.79 | Brooklyn Heights | 52.02 |
| South Euclid (Cleveland Hts schools) | 93.39 | Cuyahoga Heights | 52.02 |
| University Heights | 91.32 | Westlake | 52.39 |
| Cleveland Heights | 90.54 | Strongsville | 52.53 |
A $300,000 house in Shaker Heights pays about $11,500 a year before credits, against about $5,400 in Independence. Most of the gap is school taxes: the Shaker Heights City School District has the highest school tax rate in Ohio, at 80.53 effective mills on its own. The next highest are Ottawa Hills, Oakwood and Cleveland Heights–University Heights.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Ohio passed a package of property tax bills in 2025, and most took effect March 20, 2026:
- Bigger owner-occupancy credit. The 2.5% credit for homes you live in rises to 5.70% in 2027, 8.92% in 2028, 12.15% in 2029 and 15.38% from 2030. The 10% "non-business" credit that every home gets today phases out over the same years, so owner-occupants end up slightly ahead and landlords pay more. These credits only apply to levies first passed before September 2013 and their renewals.
- Inflation cap on school floor districts (HB 186). Districts at the 20-mill floor can't collect more than inflation from rising values. It shows up as an "Inflation Cap Credit" on second-half 2026 bills.
- Cap on inside millage (HB 335). From 2026, in a reappraisal year, growth from unvoted millage is limited to inflation unless the county budget commission approves more.
- Budget commissions can cut excessive levies (HB 309).
- Local homestead option (HB 96). Counties can add their own homestead exemption on top of the state one.
Our Ohio homestead exemption guide covers the credits and how to claim them in detail.
How to lower your Ohio bill
- Make sure you have the owner-occupancy credit. It's free and worth more every year through 2030. File form DTE 105C with the county auditor if it's not on your bill.
- Homestead exemption. If you're 65 or older or disabled, it removes $29,000 of market value from tax for tax year 2025 ($29,700 for 2026), if your Ohio adjusted gross income is $40,000 or less ($41,000 for 2026). Disabled veterans get $58,000 with no income test.
- Challenge your value. File a complaint (form DTE 1) with the county Board of Revision between January 1 and March 31. For tax year 2026 values, that's January 1 to March 31, 2027. Our appeal guide covers the evidence that works.
Where these numbers come from
City rates are from the tax year 2025 rate sheets of the Cuyahoga County Annual Information Statement, the Hamilton County Auditor, the Lucas County Auditor, the Summit County Fiscal Office, the Mahoning County Treasurer, the Lorain County Auditor and the Lake County Treasurer, plus the Franklin County Auditor's tax year 2024 rates. County averages come from the Ohio Department of Taxation's Table PR-6 (2024) and tax abstract PD-23 (2025), and school district rates from its 2025 school district rate file. Homestead amounts are from the Department of Taxation. For ZIP-level data on any city, start from our Ohio page.