Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Berea grades A overall, 105th of 987 graded towns in Ohio, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It reports less crime per resident than 90% of U.S. towns and natural-hazard risk is low. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 74% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $240K, 3.4 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. On walkability, just 33 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. 13% of the land in Berea is conserved, where Ohio’s towns sit at 3.7% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Berea is home to Baldwin Wallace University.
Where Berea beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,628 in 1870, 18,545 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1834 and 6 maps from 1902 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Berea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berea. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
13 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
12 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
13 mi Stadium & arenaRocket Arena
16 mi MuseumCleveland Museum of Art410K visitors a yearRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cleveland Museum of Art: zenbikescience, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berea, 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 Berea.
Berea trades workers with Cleveland and other neighbors and sees little violent crime.
6.0 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. At 1.0 miles per square mile, Berea’s trail density is against 0.2 in Ohio’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Mill Stream Run Reservation, at 208 acres with 2.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mill Stream Run Reservation | 2.4 mi | 208 |
| 2. Rocky River Reservation | 1.4 mi | 164 |
| 3. Roehm Athletic Complex | 0.4 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Berea City school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Berea-Midpark High School, with 1,694 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grindstone Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 641 | A− |
| Berea-Midpark High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,694 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Berea is 3.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Berea | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berea.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
20% of adults binge drink in Berea. Berea beats the Ohio average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 37% of adults feel lonely in Berea.
| Berea | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Berea | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who get no exercise | 21% | 26.9% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 10.7% | 13.2% |
| More binge drinkers | 20.2% | 16.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Berea has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Berea’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Berea has about as many jobs (7,499) as working residents, but only 777 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Berea for work: only 9% work in town. 17% of Berea workers work from home. Since 2013, Berea has added 605 jobs, to 7,499 in 2023.
| Berea | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.1% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). Berea has lost 3.3% of its people since 2020, down to 17,920 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Berea | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 24% | 29% |
| Median age | 37 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 20% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.9, men 35.7.
| Berea | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.7% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 16.2% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.1% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.8% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.9% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.2% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Berea home is worth about $240,000, up 4% in a year, close to the Ohio typical home.
| Berea | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,062 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 77% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of Berea
About 13 of every 100 Berea residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
9 places in Berea on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Berea.
City in Ohio, United States
Berea ( bə-REE-ə) is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Its population was 18,545 at the 2020 census. A western suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Berea is home to Baldwin Wallace University, the training facility for the Cleveland Browns, and the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Berea.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berea | #105 | A | C+ | A | B | B+ |
| Middleburg Heights | #128 | A | C+ | — | B | A− |
| Olmsted Falls | #281 | B+ | C− | — | A | A |
| Olmsted Township | #63 | A | C− | A+ | A | A |
| Brook Park | #284 | B+ | B− | A | B | B− |
| Strongsville | #86 | A | C− | B+ | A | A |
Middleburg Heights and Olmsted Falls report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Berea with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Berea grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #105 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B+ for health, A 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 C+.
16 notable people were born here, including Neil H. McElroy and Hersha Parady.
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