Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Ohio town.
Athens Township's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C−, 855th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $232K, 4.2 years of the Athens area’s $56K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. 33% of residents live below the poverty line in Athens Township, against 9.1% in Ohio’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 125 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is The Ridges, 750 acres with 7.6 miles of trail.
Where Athens Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 578 in 1810, a low of 578 in 1810, 23,849 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1816 and 3 maps from 1903 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Athens Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Athens Township, 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 Athens Township.
Athens Township is shaped by its college students and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Ohio (mostly inland flooding).
Two of the 5 schools are below, and why each made the list. The largest public high school is Athens High School, with 685 students. The Athens City School District runs its public schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Plains Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 500 | C− |
| Athens High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 685 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Trails total 20 miles in 24 parks and preserves. The concentration of trails in Athens Township is 0.5 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 24, covering 1,455 acres.
| Athens Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Ridges | 7.6 mi | 750 |
| 2. Strouds Ridge Preserve COAD Tract | 1.8 mi | 70 |
| 3. Sells Park | 1 mi | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Ohio towns, with expected losses of about $353 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
84% of Athens Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. For Athens Township, the risk rating from FEMA is 69 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims here since 1981: 15.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 22°, and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 7,997 working residents takes 17.1 minutes, against 23.4 across Ohio.
The top destinations are Athens (36%), Columbus (8%) and The Plains (2%). Employers in Athens Township shed 657 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 11,309. Its typical journey to work is 17 minutes. The median commute is under 26 miles.
| Athens Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 36% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 5,269 U.S. towns with household incomes like Athens Township’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
The share of adults in Athens Township who have high blood pressure: 29%. Among 993 Ohio towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Athens Township. CDC measures, 32 in all: Athens Township beats Ohio on 8 and trails on 12.
| Athens Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Athens Township | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 8.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.4% | 3.7% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.8% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Athens Township
College town 47 of every 100 Athens Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
City in Ohio, US
Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio University, a large public research university with an undergraduate and graduate enrollment of more than 21,000 students. It is the principal city of the Athens micropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Athens Township.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens Township | #855 | C− | D | — | B− | B− |
| Dover Township | #873 | C− | B− | — | B− | C |
| Waterloo Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | B− |
| Alexander Township | #871 | C− | C+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| Canaan Township | — | — | C− | — | B− | B− |
Waterloo Township and Canaan Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Athens Township, Dover Township, Waterloo Township, Alexander Township and Canaan Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Athens Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Athens Township grades C− overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #855 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B− for health and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.