Employee Cost: Ohio vs Wyoming (2026)

Side-by-side comparison of employer costs, payroll taxes, SUTA rates, and workers' comp.

At a $60,000 salary

Ohio saves $376/employee/year

$65,337 in Ohio vs $65,713 in Wyoming

Ohio

$65,337

1.09x salary

Wyoming

$65,713

1.1x salary

Cost Breakdown Comparison

Based on $60,000 annual salary

Cost Component OH WY Diff
Base Salary $60,000 $60,000
Social Security (6.2%) $3,720 $3,720
Medicare (1.45%) $870 $870
FUTA (0.6%) $42 $42
SUTA (State Unemployment) $117 $331 -$214
Workers' Compensation $588 $750 -$162
Total Employer Cost $65,337 $65,713 -$376

Tax Rate Comparison

Rate Ohio Wyoming
SUTA Rate Range 0.1% – 6.5% 0.08% – 8.78%
SUTA Typical Rate 1.3% 1.07%
SUTA Wage Base $9,000 $30,900
Workers' Comp Rate 0.98% 1.25%
State Income Tax Yes No

What This Means for Employers

For a business hiring at a $60,000 salary, choosing Ohio over Wyoming saves $376 per employee per year in employer-side payroll costs alone. For a team of 10, that's $3,756 annually.

The biggest difference comes from SUTA (state unemployment tax) — Ohio charges 1.3% vs Wyoming's 1.07%. Note that federal taxes (Social Security, Medicare, FUTA) are identical in both states.

These numbers reflect employer-side costs only and don't include benefits, overhead, or the employee's own tax burden. Use the interactive Employee Cost Calculator to model different salary levels and benefits packages.

Cost Comparison at Different Salary Levels

How the gap changes from $30K to $150K

Salary OH Total WY Total Difference
$30,000 $32,748 $33,033 -$285
$40,000 $43,611 $43,933 -$322
$50,000 $54,474 $54,823 -$349
$60,000 $65,337 $65,713 -$376
$75,000 $81,632 $82,048 -$416
$100,000 $108,789 $109,273 -$484
$125,000 $135,947 $136,498 -$551
$150,000 $163,104 $163,723 -$619

Click any amount to see the full cost breakdown for that salary and state. Amounts shown from the perspective of OH.

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