Ohio Price Watch
Snap a photo of the price of something everyone buys, in any store in Ohio, and send it in. A person checks every photo against the price you typed. Together the photos track what things cost across Ohio month by month, and show which stores and which parts of the state charge the most.
This is brand new, and nearly empty. Ohio Price Watch opened on September 25, 2026. So far it has very few reports, and possibly none at all. Until many more people send prices, there is no reliable Ohio average here, and the page does not compare stores or areas yet. The first photos matter most: yours could be one of them.
Counting the reports sent so far…
How it works
- Find an item from the list in any Ohio store, gas station or restaurant: a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, a gallon of regular gas and 24 more. Each one names a single product at a standard size, so a price in Toledo and a price in Portsmouth compare like for like.
- Photograph it with its price. The shelf tag, the sticker, the gas station sign or the menu board, readable. Two photos are fine: the item and the tag.
- Tell us what the photo cannot: the store's name and street address, the day (if it was not today), and anything else that is not on the tag, like a limit per customer, a price that needed a store card, or a different price at the register.
- A moderator checks it. Nothing counts until a person has compared the photo with the numbers you typed. Then it joins the Ohio figures, with your name the way you chose to show it.
Sending a price takes a free Cracked Buckeye account: an email, a password, your name and your ZIP code. Your email and ZIP code are never shown.
Send a price
What readers have found
Only reports a moderator has approved count. Prices are compared at each item's standard size.
No approved reports yet. When there are, the Ohio median for each item, the latest prices and the photos behind them appear here.
The list
27 everyday items, each one product at one standard size. Report only these, so every price has others to compare with.
Dairy and eggs
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs, large, 1 dozen | Grade A large white eggs, a carton of 12. Any brand, including the store brand. | 1 dozen |
| Whole milk, 1 gallon | A gallon jug of whole milk (not 2%, not organic). Any brand. | 1 gallon |
| Butter, salted, 1 lb | A 1 lb box of salted butter, usually four sticks. Any brand. | 1 lb |
| Cheddar cheese, 8 oz block | A block (not shredded) of mild or medium cheddar. Any brand. | 8 oz |
Meat
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef, 80% lean, per lb | 80/20 ground beef or ground chuck. Enter the price per pound from the tag, or the package price and its weight. | 1 lb |
| Chicken breast, boneless skinless, per lb | Fresh (not frozen) boneless skinless chicken breast. Price per pound, or package price and weight. | 1 lb |
| Bacon, sliced, per lb | Regular sliced pork bacon, usually a 12 oz or 16 oz package. Enter the package price and its size in ounces. | 16 oz |
Produce
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| Bananas, per lb | Regular yellow bananas (not organic), priced by the pound. | 1 lb |
| Apples, Gala, per lb | Gala apples, loose by the pound or a bag (enter the bag price and its weight). | 1 lb |
| Russet potatoes, 5 lb bag | A bag of russet potatoes. Enter the bag price and its weight. | 5 lb |
Bread and pantry
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| White sandwich bread, 20 oz loaf | A loaf of plain white sandwich bread. Any brand, including the store brand. | 20 oz |
| All-purpose flour, 5 lb bag | Plain all-purpose white flour. Any brand. | 5 lb |
| White sugar, 4 lb bag | Granulated white sugar. Any brand. | 4 lb |
| Long-grain white rice, 2 lb bag | Plain long-grain white rice (not instant, not jasmine or basmati). Any brand. | 2 lb |
| Spaghetti, 16 oz box | Dry spaghetti. Any brand. | 16 oz |
| Creamy peanut butter, 16 oz jar | Regular creamy peanut butter (not natural, not reduced fat). Any brand. | 16 oz |
| Ground coffee, 12 oz | Ground coffee, medium roast, in a bag or can. Enter the package price and its size in ounces. | 12 oz |
| Cheerios, original, per 10 oz | General Mills Cheerios, the original yellow box, any box size. Enter the box price and its size in ounces. | 10 oz |
Drinks
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola, 2 liter bottle | A single 2 liter bottle of regular Coca-Cola. | 2 liters |
| Bottled water, 24-pack | A case of 24 bottles of still water, 16.9 oz each. Any brand. | 24 count |
| Orange juice, 52 oz | Chilled 100% orange juice, not from concentrate. Enter the carton price and its size in fluid ounces. | 52 fl oz |
| Bud Light, 12-pack of 12 oz cans | A 12-pack of 12 oz Bud Light cans. Before any deposit or bottle fee. | 12 count |
Household
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| Tide Original liquid detergent, per 92 fl oz | Tide Original liquid laundry detergent, any bottle size. Enter the bottle price and its size in fluid ounces. | 92 fl oz |
| Bounty paper towels, 6 rolls | Bounty Select-A-Size paper towels. Enter the pack price and the number of rolls, and put the roll size (Double, Triple) in the notes. | 6 count |
Gas
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| Regular gasoline (87), per gallon | The price per gallon of regular unleaded on the station sign or the pump. Say in the notes whether it is the cash or the credit price. | 1 gallon |
| Diesel, per gallon | The price per gallon of diesel on the station sign or the pump. Say in the notes whether it is the cash or the credit price. | 1 gallon |
Restaurant
| Item | What to photograph | Compared per |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Big Mac, sandwich only | The menu-board or app price of one Big Mac on its own (not a meal), before tax. | 1 each |
How to read the numbers
- Every price is converted to the item's standard size. A 30.5 oz can of coffee and a 12 oz bag are both shown per 12 oz, so a bigger package does not look like a higher price.
- The Ohio median is the middle price of the approved reports for an item from the last 180 days: half were lower, half higher. It appears once an item has at least 5 of them. Until then no comparison is made.
- "Well above the median" means 25% or more above it. A store is compared once it has 3 such reports, a county once it has 5. An index of 100 is the Ohio median; 125 is a quarter above it.
- Month by month: an item's monthly median is shown once a month has 3 approved reports. That line, over time, is the inflation record this project is for.
- A high price is not proof of wrongdoing. Sale prices, store-card prices, rent, a store's size and a town's distance from a warehouse all move prices. What this shows is where readers found prices well above what others paid for the same thing. Sale and store-card prices are marked on every report.
- Readers are not a random sample. The figures reflect the stores people chose to photograph. More reports from more places make them better.
Your reports
Review queue
Moderators only. Compare each photo with the typed price and size; correct them if the photo says otherwise, then approve. Reject with a reason the reporter can act on.
Photo rules, and what is public
- Only prices you saw yourself, in a store in Ohio, and only items on the list.
- Photograph the product and its price, not people. A photo showing someone's face, or a license plate, is rejected.
- One report per item per store per visit. The same photo cannot be sent twice.
- Every photo is re-saved by the server, which removes the location and camera details stored inside it.
- Public: the item, the price, the size, the store's name and address, the date, your notes, the photo and your name the way you chose to show it. Never public: your email and your ZIP code.
See the terms and the privacy notice. Questions or a photo that should come down: hello@crackedbuckeye.com.