Portsmouth, Ohio

Population

Down 5.0% since 2020.

17,282

people, the 111th-largest of Ohio's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Ohio's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

81.4%

of 12,891 jobs located in Portsmouth are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 48% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$747

a month. Ohio's median is $1,034.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $520 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Scioto County.

• $376 Tract 37
• $896 Tract 33

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$861–$1,292

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $747 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 174 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 91% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 97% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.4–1.5% to the 8,466 homes here.

37–129

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 52% less than Ohio's.

$103,300

median home value in Portsmouth.

• $103,300 Portsmouth
• $214,800 Ohio
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year