Ep. 3 | I’m Scrolling, and I’m Scrolling, and I’m Learning a Lot
Welcome to episode three of Brain Drain, a Midstory podcast that explores the city of Toledo through the eyes of the people who’ve left it behind. In this episode of Brain Drain, we take a visit to Toledo’s Tech Loft to see how the site of a broken promise is trying to become proof that Toledo can and will attract the workforce of the future.
Ironically, people once flocked to Ohio for the jobs it supported — especially in Toledo: in the second half of the 19th century, the city’s population grew eighty fold in fifty years as immigrants were drawn by cheap land and infrastructural work such as the extensive ditching needed to drain the swamplands and build railroads. By 1890, it was a bustling hub of industry and transportation, boasting a population of 81,434 people. From 1910 to 1970, the percentage of Black population in Toledo more than tripled as Black Americans moved from the South in the Great Migration to find wartime jobs that were opened up as the industrial North ramped up production work.
And Toledo was truly at the forefront of what was then the world’s “tech” industry. Toledo was where bicycles became motorcars. Where glass blowing became glass bottles, which then became glass blocks for buildings that then became fiber glass for insulation and numerous other applications that have fundamentally shaped the way we live. Famous innovations such as the Toledo Scale and the Toledo Jeep — and lesser known but nonetheless revolutionary ones such as the Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop, the atomizer and the compression sock that could probably be found in every other household today — were innovated and made in Toledo.
Soon after the Second World War, however, the wartime manufacturing and postwar housing bubble burst. Companies moved out from the city cores; many went overseas. The Toledo of today is a shell of its yesterday.
But in the past few decades, there have certainly been efforts to rekindle the flame of innovation.
To learn more about the landscape of innovation in Toledo, check out the gallery below.
Brain Drain 3
Top Occupations in Toledo
Top Occupations
in Toledo
The job sectors shown here are the top areas of employment in Toledo as of 2024, and make up over 50% of the city’s total employment.
With ambitions to make Toledo’s tech scene a top industry, currently STEM-related occupations — those related to math, computers, engineering and architecture — make up only 3.3% of Toledo’s jobs.
Remote Workers
Remote Workers
According to the U.S. Census, there were 8,489 remote workers in Toledo in 2024 — that’s about 7% of Toledo’s employed working population.
Yet, compared to other major cities in Ohio and the U.S., Toledo lags behind.
Even with its lower cost of living as an ideal place for remote work, more remote workers are living elsewhere and choosing to pay more.
Cost of Living
Cost of Living
How affordable is it to live in Toledo?
The cost of living in Toledo is 57.7% less than NYC, 48.7% less than Boston and 36.3% less than Chicago.
Among other major Ohio cities, it’s more affordable, too. The cost of living in Toledo is 21.1% less than Columbus, 19.8% less than Cleveland and 17.8% less than Cincinnati.
Average Home Value
Average Home Value
In 2025, the average value of a home in Toledo was about a third of the value of an average U.S. home.
Housing Affordability
Housing Affordability
In fact, Toledo’s housing affordability has historically been lower than the national average.
At the start of 2025, Toledo’s housing market ranked first for median home listing prices on the Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking.
Brain Drain 2
Top Occupations in Toledo
Top Occupations
in Toledo
The job sectors shown here are the top areas of employment in Toledo as of 2024, and make up over 50% of the city’s total employment.
With ambitions to make Toledo’s tech scene a top industry, currently STEM-related occupations — those related to math, computers, engineering and architecture — make up only 3.3% of Toledo’s jobs.
Remote Workers
Remote Workers
According to the U.S. Census, there were 8,489 remote workers in Toledo in 2024 — that’s about 7% of Toledo’s employed working population.
Yet, compared to other major cities in Ohio and the U.S., Toledo lags behind.
Even with its lower cost of living as an ideal place for remote work, more remote workers are living elsewhere and choosing to pay more.
Cost of Living
Cost of Living
How affordable is it to live in Toledo?
The cost of living in Toledo is 57.7% less than NYC, 48.7% less than Boston and 36.3% less than Chicago.
Among other major Ohio cities, it’s more affordable, too. The cost of living in Toledo is 21.1% less than Columbus, 19.8% less than Cleveland and 17.8% less than Cincinnati.
Average Home Value
Average Home Value
In 2025, the average value of a home in Toledo was about a third of the value of an average U.S. home.
Housing Affordability
Housing Affordability
In fact, Toledo’s housing affordability has historically been lower than the national average.
At the start of 2025, Toledo’s housing market ranked first for median home listing prices on the Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking.
Stay tuned for more deep dives in our following episodes.
The Cost of Living (CoL) comparison in this episode is flawed. Chicago is actually more affordable than Toledo for two reasons: 1) These comparisons don’t properly distinguish between optional expenses and necessities, and 2) they ignore income differences.
In Chicago, a car is optional thanks to the CTA, walking & biking, while in Toledo it’s a necessity (car ownership costs ~$575-690/month). Meanwhile, minimum wage in Ohio is $11.00/hr while Chicago’s is $16.60/hr.
For minimum and low-wage workers specifically, Chicago is substantially more affordable despite higher rents, both because of the $16.60 minimum wage and the ability to avoid car ownership costs.
These so-called CoL comparisons are really measuring Cost of Consumption, not cost of living.
The Cost of Living (CoL) comparison in this episode is flawed. Chicago is actually more affordable than Toledo for two reasons: 1) These comparisons don’t properly distinguish between optional expenses and necessities, and 2) they ignore income differences.
In Chicago, a car is optional thanks to the CTA, walking & biking, while in Toledo it’s a necessity (car ownership costs ~$575-690/month). Meanwhile, minimum wage in Ohio is $11.00/hr while Chicago’s is $16.60/hr.
For minimum and low-wage workers specifically, Chicago is substantially more affordable despite higher rents, both because of the $16.60 minimum wage and the ability to avoid car ownership costs.
These so-called CoL comparisons are really measuring Cost of Consumption, not cost of living.