Big Island TownshipOH
A town of 1,179, settled in 1829.
Is Big Island Township a good place to live?
Big Island Township’s best subject grade is a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for walkability. On civic life, just 7 of Ohio’s 1,560 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Big Island Wildlife Area, at 3,881 acres. Big Island Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,179 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Big Island Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Big Island Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Big Island Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Big Island 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Big Island Township.
Big Island Township’s public schools trail 54% of Ohio districts
The Elgin Local school district runs its public schools. Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. 3 public schools serve Big Island Township, with 1,022 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 490 | B− |
| Elgin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 275 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Residents of Big Island Township are less healthy than 89% of U.S. towns
In Big Island Township, just over two in five adults have high blood pressure, above both Ohio’s towns (38%) and U.S. towns (35%). 43% of Big Island Township adults sleep under 7 hours. Among adults locally, 44% have obesity and 34% get no exercise outside work.
| Big Island Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 28% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Big Island Township | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 19.8% | 15.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 8% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 33.9% | 26.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
With only 0.4 jobs per working resident, most people in Big Island Township work out of town
The average commute for Big Island Township comes to 22 minutes, against 24 minutes in Ohio’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Big Island Township had 206 jobs in 2023, up 116 from 2013. The share of working residents in Big Island Township who work locally: 2%. The top destinations are Marion (16%), Columbus (14%) and Marion Township (13%).
| Big Island Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2% | 6.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Big Island Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
The peak summer temperature in the town is 84°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest natural risk in Big Island Township is inland flooding, at a high overall level
The risk rating from FEMA for Big Island Township comes to 62 of 100. 61% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 17%. One declared disaster, in 2008, has brought federal aid to Big Island Township households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Conservation land takes up 2% of Big Island Township
For Big Island Township, the trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile. This Ohio town has 2 parks and preserves, 4,134 acres in all.
| Big Island Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Foundation Lake | 0.7 mi | 253 |
| 2. Big Island Wildlife Area | — | 3,881 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Big Island Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Big Island Township
About 0 of every 100 Big Island Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
98% of working residents leave Big Island Township for work
Where Big Island Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Big Island Township
Unincorporated community in Ohio, U.S.
Big Island is an unincorporated community in Marion County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. Big Island is served by Ridgedale Local School District.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Questions about Big Island Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Big Island Township, OH expensive?
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 B+.