FERS Retirement Help in Dayton, OH

By the OnPAR Federal Retirement Education editorial team · Last updated October 29, 2026

Wright-Patt makes Dayton one of the biggest federal-civilian towns in the Midwest. We meet with Dayton-area feds by phone or video. We do not have a local office.

Federal employers in the area

• Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, has over 38,000 military, civilian and contractor employees. That makes it the largest single-site employer in Ohio, with an economic impact of $6.5 billion a year^[9].
• It hosts Air Force Materiel Command, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory (a workforce of more than 10,000 across its directorates worldwide), NASIC, AFIT and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force^[9].

Benefits contacts

Air Force civilians call AFPC BEST at 1-800-525-0102 and choose option 2 for civilian^[2]. If you are already retired, the number is OPM at 1-888-767-6738^[3].

Ohio tax on your FERS annuity

Ohio generally taxes retirement income that is included in federal AGI. It then gives a retirement income credit^[10] of at most $200, and only if your modified AGI less exemptions is under $100,000^[11]. Taxpayers 65 or older can also claim a $50 senior citizen credit^[10].

Cost of living

BEA no longer shows a 2024 figure for the Dayton metro. Its statewide 2024 price level for Ohio is 92.8, where 100 is the U.S. average^[1].

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Sources

1. BEA: Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area (2024 data, released Feb 19, 2026)
2. DoD DCPAS: Benefits Service Centers (official DoD civilian benefits contacts)
3. OPM: Retirement Services contact
9. Wright-Patterson AFB fact sheet (current as of June 2026)
10. Ohio Department of Taxation: Retirement income FAQ
11. Ohio Department of Taxation: Ohio tax credits and required documentation

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