Cleveland composite
58.8 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Cleveland vs Mansfield
Cleveland, OH and Mansfield, OH side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 58.8
- Cleveland Life Score
- A-
- Cleveland grade
- 56.7
- Mansfield Life Score
- B+
- Mansfield grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Cleveland scores higher on 3 (wages, safety, childcare) and Mansfield on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Cleveland Mansfield ◗
cost of living
47
81
wages
68
20
rent
90
95
safety
65
64
schools
89
90
childcare
32
31
environment
4
5
Cleveland and Mansfield differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Cleveland has a cost-of-living index of 93.9 vs Mansfield's 88.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $67,639 in Cleveland and $59,166 in Mansfield. A 2-bedroom averages $1,037/mo vs $973/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Cleveland vs Mansfield Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Cleveland and Mansfield works out to $768 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Cleveland carries the same local purchasing power as $94,622 in Mansfield - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 292.8 per 100,000 residents in OH vs 292.8 in OH, with property-crime rates of 1545.4 and 1545.4 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: OH lists 3,586 public schools at a 17.4:1 student-teacher ratio, while OH lists 3,586 schools at 17.4:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $11,791/yr in the Cleveland area versus $11,791/yr in Mansfield - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Cleveland and Mansfield are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Mansfield composite
56.7 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Mansfield cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Cleveland safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Cleveland
Cleveland composite (Grade A-)
Mansfield
Mansfield composite (Grade B+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Cleveland | Mansfield |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 93.9 | 88.9 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.6 |
| Services | 96.0 | 96.2 |
| Rents | 79.4 | 54.9 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Mansfield gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Cleveland?
$
Equivalent in Mansfield:
$94,622
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Cleveland: 93.9, Mansfield: 88.9, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Cleveland | Mansfield |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $715/mo | $671/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $840/mo | $773/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,037/mo | $973/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,257/mo | $1,315/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,429/mo | $1,530/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Cleveland | Mansfield |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $67,639 | $59,166 |
| Total Employment | 1,014,330 | 42,920 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Cleveland (OH) | Mansfield (OH) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 292.8 | 292.8 |
| Property Crime | 1545.4 | 1545.4 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | OH | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 3,586 | 3,586 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.4:1 | 17.4:1 |
| Charter Schools | 9.3% | 9.3% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | OH | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $11,791/yr | $11,791/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $10,686/yr | $10,686/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $9,394/yr | $9,394/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | OH | OH |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,546 | 1,546 |
| Water Systems | 1,089 | 1,089 |
| Superfund Sites | 50 | 50 |
| Water Violations | 1,500 | 1,500 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Cleveland | Mansfield |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.8 | 42.8 |
| Good Air Days | 69.7% | 69.7% |
Air quality shown at state level (no metro-specific AQI monitoring data available).
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | OH | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 12/100 | 12/100 |
| Total Violations | 288,388 | 288,388 |
| Health-Based Violations | 52,412 | 52,412 |
| Systems with Violations | 90.4% | 90.4% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | OH | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 69/100 | 69/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 31.4% | 31.4% |
| HPSA Designations | 495 | 495 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | OH | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 56/100 | 56/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 55.0 | 55.0 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 57.6 | 57.6 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cleveland more expensive than Mansfield? ▼
Cleveland has a cost of living index of 93.9 compared to Mansfield's 88.9 (national average = 100). Cleveland is 5.1 points above Mansfield on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Cleveland and Mansfield? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,037/mo in Cleveland vs $973/mo in Mansfield, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $715/mo to $671/mo.
How do salaries compare between Cleveland and Mansfield? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $67,639 in Cleveland and $59,166 in Mansfield, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Cleveland has the same purchasing power as $94,622 in Mansfield.
Is Cleveland or Mansfield safer? ▼
At the state level, OH has a violent crime rate of 292.8 per 100,000 residents compared to OH's 292.8 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1545.4 vs 1545.4 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Cleveland and Mansfield? ▼
OH has 3,586 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.4:1, while OH has 3,586 schools at 17.4:1. Charter schools make up 9.3% of OH schools vs 9.3% in OH. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare