COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nearly 2.5 million Ohioans who depend on Supplemental Security Income as their primary financial lifeline receive just $118 per month on average — matching the national average but falling $9 short of what recipients in the nation’s top-paying states receive, according to a new analysis of federal Social Security Administration data.
The figures, drawn from the SSA Statistical Supplement 2024 and analyzed by Minnesota-based Madia Law, place Ohio tied for 40th among all 50 states in per-recipient SSI payouts — sharing that ranking with Oregon and Delaware. Of the 50 states, 39 pay more per recipient than Ohio does.
SSI is a federal program designed to provide a financial floor for disabled adults, blind individuals, and seniors with limited income and resources. For nearly 2.45 million Ohioans, it is not supplemental income — it is the primary check keeping them housed and fed.
Ohio’s $118 monthly payout sits $9 below leaders Montana and North Dakota, which each pay $127 per recipient. Texas — which serves more than 4.5 million recipients, nearly twice Ohio’s total — pays $8 more per person at $126. Florida pays $124. Even neighboring Kentucky pays $4 more per recipient at $122, and West Virginia edges Ohio out by $1 at $119.
Among Midwestern and neighboring states, only Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania rank lower than Ohio, each paying $117 per recipient.
The scale of Ohio’s recipient population makes the state’s middling ranking particularly consequential. With nearly 2.45 million SSI recipients, Ohio has one of the largest SSI populations in the country. Even a $1 gap between Ohio and higher-paying states translates to millions of dollars in monthly income that vulnerable Ohioans are not receiving.
“Average is not acceptable when nearly 2.45 million Ohioans are depending on SSI as their financial lifeline,” said Ashwin Madia, a trial lawyer at Madia Law who oversaw the analysis. “Ohio’s $118 per recipient may match the national average, but it still falls $9 short of what recipients in Montana and North Dakota receive. Policymakers in Columbus and Washington owe these recipients transparency, and action.”
The analysis used SSA Statistical Supplements 2024 and 2025, calculating average per-recipient payouts by dividing total state-level SSI payments by total recipients across all 50 states.