Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,974, settled in 1830. 83% more nonprofits per person than the typical Ohio town.
Trash & recyclingAmherst is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, ranked 186th of 987 in Ohio, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $91K. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 72% of Ohio towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $282K, 4 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. Amherst has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Amherst Town Hall and Old Amherst Freight Depot. Amherst's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 87% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Kennedy Park, at 35 acres.
Where Amherst beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Powers Elementary School | PK–3 | 1,104 |
| Walter G. Nord Middle School | 4–5 | 556 |
| St. Joseph Elementary School | PK–8 | 235 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Amherst is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,542 in 1880, 12,681 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 3 maps from 1901 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Amherst, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Amherst.
Amherst has less food insecurity than most of Ohio and sees little violent crime, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Amherst.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Amherst Exempted Village school district. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Marion L Steele High School, with 1,014 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powers Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 1,104 | B+ |
| Marion L Steele High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,014 | B+ |
| Walter G. Nord Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 4–5 | Grades 4–5 | 556 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Ohio is food insecurity: 8.8% of its 10,123 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.1% statewide.
Amherst beats the Ohio average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 31% of Amherst adults feel lonely, where Ohio’s towns sit at 34% and U.S. towns at 33%. 13% of adults smoke cigarettes in Amherst.
| Amherst | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Amherst | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.4% | 8.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Amherst has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Amherst’s July high is 82°F, against 84°F in Ohio’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Amherst’s violent crime rate is 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Amherst | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Amherst for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Amherst has added 532 jobs, to 4,875 in 2023. 6.2% of Amherst residents live below the poverty line.
| Amherst | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
59.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.9% across Ohio.
Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Amherst is $906 a month.
| Amherst | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $906 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Ohio average. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Amherst | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 24% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.8 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Amherst | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.7% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.4% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.8% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.7% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.8% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.4% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.4% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.4% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
| Amherst | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Neiding Park | 0.4 mi | 11 |
| 2. Kennedy Park | — | 35 |
| 3. DePaola Park | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Amherst
About 6 of every 100 Amherst residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
3 places in Amherst on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Amherst.
City in Ohio, United States
Amherst ( AM-hərst) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located 28 miles (45 km) west of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 12,681 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Amherst.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst | #186 | A− | B | B | B+ | B+ |
| Amherst Township | #545 | B− | B | — | B+ | C+ |
| Lorain | #976 | D | B+ | C− | C− | D− |
| Brownhelm Township | #703 | C+ | C | — | B+ | B |
Amherst Township and Brownhelm Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Amherst with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Amherst grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #186 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
10 notable people were born here, including Guy Carlton and Frank Harris Hitchcock.
