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Cliff-Zone Families
279,371
Total Wage Suppression
$203.4M
State Avg Cliff Zone
16.0%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In Ohio, an estimated 279,371 families across 88 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County | 1,333,048 | 16.1% | 33,999 | $24.8M | 249% |
| Cuyahoga County | 1,245,873 | 16.1% | 28,162 | $20.5M | 205% |
| Hamilton County | 830,774 | 14.7% | 17,694 | $12.9M | 226% |
| Montgomery County | 536,096 | 16.7% | 12,868 | $9.4M | 205% |
| Summit County | 537,864 | 15.9% | 12,670 | $9.2M | 205% |
| Lucas County | 428,018 | 17.1% | 10,072 | $7.3M | 205% |
| Stark County | 373,713 | 17.5% | 9,605 | $7.0M | 205% |
| Butler County | 392,876 | 14.3% | 8,797 | $6.4M | 226% |
| Lorain County | 317,129 | 15.8% | 6,866 | $5.0M | 205% |
| Mahoning County | 226,491 | 17.5% | 5,572 | $4.1M | 205% |
| Trumbull County | 200,929 | 19.7% | 5,218 | $3.8M | 205% |
| Clermont County | 211,181 | 13.9% | 5,040 | $3.7M | 226% |
| Lake County | 232,216 | 12.7% | 4,421 | $3.2M | 205% |
| Warren County | 250,008 | 8.9% | 4,025 | $2.9M | 226% |
| Fairfield County | 163,453 | 14.6% | 4,009 | $2.9M | 249% |
| Clark County | 135,158 | 19.1% | 3,815 | $2.8M | 205% |
| Licking County | 181,837 | 12.7% | 3,663 | $2.7M | 249% |
| Portage County | 161,956 | 15.8% | 3,387 | $2.5M | 205% |
| Wayne County | 116,588 | 19.5% | 3,300 | $2.4M | 205% |
| Greene County | 169,688 | 12.4% | 3,282 | $2.4M | 205% |
| Richland County | 125,099 | 20.1% | 3,192 | $2.3M | 205% |
| Medina County | 183,660 | 10.7% | 3,028 | $2.2M | 205% |
| Ashtabula County | 97,167 | 22.1% | 2,872 | $2.1M | 205% |
| Allen County | 101,348 | 20.2% | 2,761 | $2.0M | 205% |
| Columbiana County | 100,704 | 19.4% | 2,679 | $2.0M | 205% |
| Muskingum County | 86,411 | 19.6% | 2,445 | $1.8M | 205% |
| Miami County | 110,296 | 14.6% | 2,373 | $1.7M | 205% |
| Tuscarawas County | 92,385 | 17.3% | 2,350 | $1.7M | 205% |
| Wood County | 132,064 | 13.2% | 2,327 | $1.7M | 205% |
| Ross County | 76,492 | 20.6% | 2,245 | $1.6M | 205% |
| Scioto County | 72,627 | 21.3% | 2,114 | $1.5M | 205% |
| Delaware County | 226,834 | 5.5% | 2,031 | $1.5M | 249% |
| Belmont County | 65,473 | 18.5% | 1,843 | $1.3M | 205% |
| Hancock County | 74,866 | 15.3% | 1,826 | $1.3M | 205% |
| Geauga County | 95,481 | 11.9% | 1,808 | $1.3M | 205% |
| Marion County | 65,020 | 19.9% | 1,758 | $1.3M | 205% |
| Knox County | 63,142 | 18.9% | 1,705 | $1.2M | 205% |
| Washington County | 58,978 | 19.8% | 1,665 | $1.2M | 205% |
| Erie County | 74,581 | 14.7% | 1,659 | $1.2M | 205% |
| Huron County | 58,319 | 18.5% | 1,649 | $1.2M | 205% |
| Darke County | 51,594 | 20.0% | 1,625 | $1.2M | 205% |
| Sandusky County | 58,778 | 16.8% | 1,557 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Lawrence County | 56,819 | 19.4% | 1,545 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Jefferson County | 64,518 | 17.6% | 1,499 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Seneca County | 54,770 | 19.9% | 1,473 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Highland County | 43,517 | 23.6% | 1,468 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Crawford County | 41,711 | 23.5% | 1,462 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Holmes County | 44,418 | 19.2% | 1,457 | $1.1M | 205% |
| Ashland County | 52,256 | 17.9% | 1,305 | $950K | 205% |
| Athens County | 61,737 | 20.4% | 1,290 | $939K | 205% |
| Logan County | 46,089 | 17.6% | 1,289 | $938K | 205% |
| Shelby County | 47,929 | 16.4% | 1,279 | $931K | 205% |
| Clinton County | 42,012 | 18.8% | 1,268 | $923K | 205% |
| Fulton County | 42,240 | 16.5% | 1,248 | $909K | 205% |
| Pickaway County | 60,131 | 14.5% | 1,206 | $878K | 249% |
| Guernsey County | 38,223 | 20.2% | 1,181 | $860K | 205% |
| Union County | 67,324 | 8.4% | 1,178 | $858K | 250% |
| Perry County | 35,535 | 19.4% | 1,173 | $854K | 205% |
| Williams County | 36,719 | 20.2% | 1,151 | $838K | 205% |
| Coshocton County | 36,744 | 19.4% | 1,083 | $788K | 205% |
| Madison County | 44,423 | 14.5% | 1,063 | $774K | 249% |
| Brown County | 43,845 | 15.2% | 1,053 | $767K | 205% |
| Champaign County | 38,804 | 16.6% | 1,023 | $745K | 205% |
| Mercer County | 42,484 | 15.3% | 1,019 | $742K | 205% |
| Morrow County | 35,404 | 15.6% | 1,009 | $735K | 249% |
| Gallia County | 29,068 | 23.9% | 995 | $724K | 205% |
| Adams County | 27,540 | 24.6% | 995 | $724K | 205% |
| Preble County | 40,765 | 15.2% | 958 | $697K | 205% |
| Jackson County | 32,650 | 19.7% | 934 | $680K | 205% |
| Defiance County | 38,343 | 14.9% | 889 | $647K | 205% |
| Van Wert County | 28,826 | 18.4% | 885 | $644K | 205% |
| Auglaize County | 46,125 | 12.8% | 844 | $614K | 205% |
| Hocking County | 27,799 | 20.0% | 838 | $610K | 205% |
| Pike County | 27,044 | 21.4% | 816 | $594K | 205% |
| Fayette County | 28,876 | 18.5% | 813 | $592K | 205% |
| Meigs County | 21,896 | 25.3% | 810 | $590K | 205% |
| Ottawa County | 39,994 | 12.7% | 784 | $571K | 205% |
| Hardin County | 30,475 | 15.6% | 776 | $565K | 205% |
| Carroll County | 26,659 | 20.2% | 713 | $519K | 205% |
| Putnam County | 34,314 | 13.2% | 703 | $512K | 205% |
| Henry County | 27,567 | 15.7% | 628 | $457K | 205% |
| Paulding County | 18,791 | 20.9% | 614 | $447K | 205% |
| Wyandot County | 21,598 | 17.5% | 607 | $442K | 205% |
| Harrison County | 14,306 | 25.1% | 509 | $371K | 205% |
| Vinton County | 12,630 | 22.3% | 476 | $347K | 205% |
| Morgan County | 13,651 | 22.8% | 448 | $326K | 205% |
| Monroe County | 13,227 | 23.7% | 430 | $313K | 205% |
| Noble County | 14,282 | 16.8% | 207 | $151K | 205% |
88 of 88 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.