Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cardington Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $148K for a typical one, or 1.8 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 573rd of 987 in Ohio. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Cardington Township’s average trip to work is 30 minutes, against 24 minutes in Ohio’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Maxwell Park, 35 acres with 1.2 miles of trail.
Where Cardington Township beats most towns.
Where Cardington Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Cardington Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for cost of living (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for walkability (better than 8%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 292 in 1850, 2,079 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 4 maps from 1913 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cardington 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 Cardington Township.
19% of Cardington Township adults smoke cigarettes. Cardington Township beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 31% of Cardington Township adults get no exercise outside work.
| Cardington Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Cardington Township | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.7% | 15.3% |
| More smokers | 18.8% | 15.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Cardington-Lincoln Local school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardington-Lincoln Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 392 | B− |
| Cardington-Lincoln High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 245 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here fell from 952 in 2013 to 755.
Most working residents leave Cardington Township for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Cardington Township has lost 197 jobs, to 755 in 2023. The top destinations are Columbus (12%), Delaware (8%) and Cardington (8%).
| Cardington Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 10% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Cardington Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.3 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maxwell Park | 1.2 mi | 35 |
| 2. American Legion Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Heimlich Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cardington Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaOhio Stadium
28 mi MuseumOhio State Reformatory
12 mi LandmarkHarding Tomb
36 mi Stadium & arenaHistoric Crew Stadium
27 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
39 mi Stadium & arenaScottsMiracle-Gro FieldOhio Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ohio State Reformatory: Niagara66, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Harding Tomb: User:Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Historic Crew Stadium: Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · ScottsMiracle-Gro Field: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cardington Township
About 1 of every 100 Cardington Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
Village in Ohio, United States
Cardington is a village in Morrow County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,051 at the 2020 census. Mount Gilead, Ohio, the county seat, is located northeast of Cardington on U.S. Route 42.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Cardington Township.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardington Township | #573 | B− | A+ | — | B | C− |
| Westfield Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C− |
| Lincoln Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C− |
| Gilead Township | #725 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C− |
| Richland Township | — | — | C | — | B | C− |
| Canaan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Westfield Township, Lincoln Township and Richland Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Cardington Township, Westfield Township, Lincoln Township, Gilead Township and Richland Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Canaan Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Cardington Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cardington Township grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #573 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C− for health and B for schools. Walkability 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+.
