Ohio energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Ohio

Ohio plants pay 9.87 cents per kWh for industrial power as of May 2026, which puts the state 13.3% over the national average and 35 of 51 in the country, counting from the cheapest.

Current prices in Ohio

  • Industrial electricity: 9.87 cents per kWh (May 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Ohio typically pays: 13.89 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: 10.93 per Mcf (May 2026), 156% above the national average.
  • Just below Ohio on the price ladder: New York at 9.55, South Dakota at 9.78, Minnesota at 9.8 cents. Just above: Illinois at 10.2, Pennsylvania at 10.31, Virginia at 10.53 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 3,948 in electricity at Ohio rates versus 3,484 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 19,740 versus 17,420, and at 200 kW it is 78,960 versus 69,680.
  • At this rate, efficiency projects clear their hurdle faster in Ohio than almost anywhere: every avoided kWh is worth more, so compressed air leak repairs, VFD retrofits, and scheduling around demand charges deserve a fresh look.

What factory labor pays in Ohio

  • Industrial production managers: $52.57/hr median in Ohio versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $48.10/hr median in Ohio versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $34.69/hr median in Ohio versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $31.31/hr median in Ohio versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $29.94/hr median in Ohio versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $27.86/hr median in Ohio versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Ohio employs about 690,000 manufacturing workers as of Jun 2026 (BLS).

Manufacturing base in Ohio

  • Ohio has 13,307 manufacturing establishments employing about 689,133 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
  • Largest sectors by establishment count: fabricated metal products (3,224), machinery manufacturing (1,369), machine shops (1,112), food manufacturing (1,011), printing and related support (910).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refresh automatically when the agency publishes; this page also archives each month's Ohio observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.