Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bellefontaine gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $243K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the Bellefontaine area’s $72K median household income. It grades B overall, 512th among Ohio's 987 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 86% of the country, and the median household income is $59K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 26% of working residents work locally in Bellefontaine, against 6.8% in Ohio’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 106 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on history. The biggest park or preserve is Rutan Park, at 30 acres.
Where Bellefontaine beats most towns.
Logan County Courthouse
Census counts: 170 in 1820, 14,115 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1857 and 4 maps from 1913 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Bellefontaine is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellefontaine, 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 Bellefontaine.
In 12 parks and preserves, walkers have 5.3 miles of trail. For Bellefontaine, the trail network density is 0.5 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves here: 12, covering 98 acres.
| Bellefontaine | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Blue Jacket Park | 1 mi | 26 |
| 2. Rutan Park | 0.6 mi | 30 |
| 3. Carter Park | 0.5 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
For adults in Bellefontaine, the share who feel lonely is 36%. Among adults locally, 20% report frequent mental distress and 32% get no exercise outside work.
| Bellefontaine | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 28% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Bellefontaine | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20% | 15.3% |
| More smokers | 19.6% | 15.4% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.5% | 14.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bellefontaine’s natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 15 of 100. Federal aid has come to Bellefontaine households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 53% come from inland flooding and 16% from tornadoes. 8 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1981.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Bellefontaine, the property offense rate is 4.4 per 1,000 residents. The town’s rate of reported violence comes in at 1.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Bellefontaine | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Winters in Bellefontaine are chilly and summers pleasant. Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 19°; snowfall runs to about 26 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Bellefontaine, the average trip to work is 19 minutes. One in 4 of the town’s working residents works locally. Also worth knowing: the town had 7,520 jobs in 2023, down 1,667 from 2013. The top destinations are Allen Township (7%), Perry Township (6%) and Marysville (6%).
| Bellefontaine | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On the market in Bellefontaine: a median 60 days to sell. A typical home locally is worth about $243,000, up 3.5% in a year, close to the Ohio typical home. Among households here, 57% live in a home they own.
| Bellefontaine | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $857 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellefontaine. Close and well known come first.
in town MountainCampbell Hill
37 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
37 mi LandmarkHarding Tomb
30 mi LandmarkMadonna of the Trail
37 mi Theme parkZoombezi Bay440K visitors a year
7 mi MuseumZane Shawnee CavernsCampbell Hill: Analogue Kid (talk)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Harding Tomb: User:Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Madonna of the Trail: W. Guy Finley, Public domain · Zoombezi Bay: JBTHEMILKER, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zane Shawnee Caverns: Darkbluejacket, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Bellefontaine; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Bellefontaine residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
5 places in Bellefontaine on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Bellefontaine.
City in Ohio, United States
Bellefontaine ( bel-FOWN-tən) is a city in Logan County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located 48 miles (77 km) northwest of Columbus, the population was 14,115 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bellefontaine micropolitan area, which includes all of Logan County. The highest point in Ohio, Campbell Hill, is within the city limits.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bellefontaine grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #512 of 987 in Ohio. It grades D for health, B+ for safety and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
24 notable people were born here, including Kin Hubbard and Melville J. Herskovits.
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