Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Blue Ash grades A− overall, 211th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. The median household earns $115K. It is healthier than 94% of U.S. towns and its public schools beat 94% of Ohio towns on state tests and graduation. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $443K for a typical one and 5.5 times the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Blue Ash, above both Ohio’s towns (24%) and U.S. towns (29%). Only 70 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on hazard risk. Blue Ash is home to University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College.
Where Blue Ash beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Blue Ash is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,341 in 1960, 13,394 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 6 maps from 1898 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Blue Ash. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year
13 mi Stadium & arenaPaycor Stadium
12 mi Stadium & arenaGreat American Ball Park
11 mi Stadium & arenaNippert Stadium
10 mi Zoo & aquariumCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden1.2M visitors a year
40 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a yearKings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paycor Stadium: JonRidinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great American Ball Park: Eric Kilby profile at Flickr website, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nippert Stadium: Ben Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · National Museum of the United States Air Force: No machine-readable author provided. Rogerd assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Blue Ash, 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 Blue Ash.
Blue Ash draws workers from Cincinnati and beyond, has less food insecurity than most of Ohio and pairs an A for schools with high home prices.
The median property tax bill is $5,000, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Blue Ash’s median rent is $1,555 a month. The typical Blue Ash home is worth about $443,000, up 1.5% in a year, 80% above the Ohio typical home. 65% of Blue Ash households own their home.
| Blue Ash | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,555 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $443K.
Its public schools are run by the Sycamore Community City school district. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin H Greene Intermediate Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–7 | Grades 5–7 | 996 | A+ |
| Ursuline Academy of Cincinnati PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 483 | – |
| Maple Dale Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 584 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
4.4 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. Summit Park, at 128 acres with 3.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The trail density in Blue Ash is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Blue Ash | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.7% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Summit Park | 3.5 mi | 128 |
| 2. Nature Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
| 3. Blue Ash Sports Center | — | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Ohio is food insecurity: 7% of its 10,397 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.1% statewide.
9.5% of adults report frequent physical distress in Blue Ash. Blue Ash beats the Ohio average on 26 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 14% of adults report frequent mental distress in Blue Ash.
| Blue Ash | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Blue Ash | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.5% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
41,497 jobs are based in Blue Ash, 6.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 23.1% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio.
Most working residents leave Blue Ash for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Blue Ash grew to 41,497 in 2023, 8,376 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Cincinnati (25%), West Chester Township (4%) and Mason (4%).
| Blue Ash | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $115,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 95% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Blue Ash.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Blue Ash has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
14 within 15 miles of the center of Blue Ash
About 5 of every 100 Blue Ash residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
Where Blue Ash’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Ohio, United States
Blue Ash is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. An inner suburb of Cincinnati, the population was 13,394 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Blue Ash.
Sharonville next door grades lower for schools (B− to Blue Ash’s A) and higher for cost of living (B− to D).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ash | #211 | A− | D | C+ | A | A |
| Montgomery | #54 | A+ | D | A− | A | A |
| Sycamore Township | #462 | B | C− | — | B | A |
| Sharonville | #437 | B | B− | C | B− | A− |
| Reading | #757 | C+ | B | C | B− | C+ |
| Kenwood | #230 | A− | D− | — | A+ | A |
| Brecon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Evendale | #696 | C+ | C− | D− | B− | A |
Sycamore Township and Kenwood report no FBI crime data of their own. Brecon isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Blue Ash with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Blue Ash grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #211 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A 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.
