Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Centerville grades A− overall, ranked 175th of 987 in Ohio. Natural-hazard risk is low. Its schools rank ahead of 84% of Ohio towns and residents are healthier than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $387K, 5.4 years of the Dayton metro’s $72K median household income. Centerville’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, above both the Ohio town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On walkability, just 157 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. Centerville has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Belville-Maxwell House and Erma Bombeck House.
Where Centerville beats most towns.
8.6% of the town is conserved land, across 18 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Centerville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 274 in 1880, 24,240 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers and 5 maps from 1913 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Centerville. Close and well known come first.
10 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a year
Big draw21 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year
39 mi Zoo & aquariumCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden1.2M visitors a year10 mi MuseumNational Aviation Hall of Fame300K visitors a year
6 mi National Historical ParkDayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park80K visitors a year
38 mi GardenSpring Grove CemeteryNational Museum of the United States Air Force: No machine-readable author provided. Rogerd assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Spring Grove Cemetery: Original uploader was Mind meal at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Centerville, 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 Centerville.
Centerville trades workers with Dayton and other neighbors, has less food insecurity than most of Ohio and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
That puts Centerville above both Ohio’s towns (3.7%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 20 miles of trail in 18 parks and preserves. Bill Yeck Park, at 122 acres with 5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bill Yeck Park | 5 mi | 122 |
| 2. Leonard E. Stubbs Memorial Park | 2.9 mi | 63 |
| 3. Pleasant Hill Park | 1.3 mi | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $5,138, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Centerville home is worth about $387,000, up 2.3% in a year, 57% above the Ohio typical home. The median rent in Centerville is $1,270 a month.
| Centerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,270 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 91% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Centerville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Ohio is food insecurity: 7.7% of its 19,811 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.1% statewide.
83% of adults had a checkup this year in Centerville. Centerville beats the Ohio average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 5.3% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Centerville.
| Centerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 80% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Centerville | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 14.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.7% | 15.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.9% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 371 to 212 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 10 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Centerville’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Centerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.5 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Centerville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Centerville has about as many jobs (10,813) as working residents, but only 808 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Centerville for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Centerville grew to 10,813 in 2023, 2,027 more than in 2013. 17% of Centerville workers work from home.
| Centerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11 within 15 miles of the center of Centerville
About 4 of every 100 Centerville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
7 notable people were born in Centerville.
City in Ohio, United States
Centerville is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A core suburb in Dayton metropolitan area, its population was 24,240 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Centerville.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centerville | #175 | A− | C− | B+ | A− | A− |
| Washington Township | #184 | A− | D | — | A− | A− |
| Kettering | #234 | A− | C+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Sugarcreek Township | #227 | A− | D | — | A | A− |
| Bellbrook | #35 | A+ | C | A | A | A |
Washington Township and Sugarcreek Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Centerville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Centerville grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #175 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
7 notable people were born here, including Chip Reese and Nick Mangold.
