Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cleveland earns a D, 978th of 987 graded towns in Ohio, mostly because of safety and health. Its police reported 4,947 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. Residents are less healthy than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 288 places on the National Register. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Cleveland, above both Ohio’s towns (9.1%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Its National Register listings include Cleveland Arcade and USS COD (submarine). Only 1 of the 313 Ohio towns we compare have a higher violent crime rate than Cleveland.
Where Cleveland beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Cleveland Arcade| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Cleveland State University | 12,375 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 11,730 |
| Cuyahoga Community College District | 11,506 |
Cleveland Arcade is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 288 National Register listings are more than in any other Ohio town with a listing.
Census counts: 606 in 1820, a peak of 914,808 in 1950, 372,624 in 2020. The archive holds 28 old photos and papers going back to 1878 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Cleveland is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cleveland. Close and well known come first.
Big drawin town MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big drawin town Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
in town Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
in town Stadium & arenaRocket Arena
5 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
in town 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 · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Cleveland Museum of Art: zenbikescience, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cleveland, 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 Cleveland.
Cleveland has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in Ohio and draws workers from Parma and beyond, but it reports violent crime at 5 times the Ohio rate.
Violent crime runs at 13.6 per 1,000 residents, 5 times the Ohio rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 39.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Ohio rate.
Cleveland’s property crime rate is 39.1 per 1,000 residents. Cleveland reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Cleveland Municipal school district. Three of its 172 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campus International SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 690 | C |
| John F Kennedy High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 652 | D |
| Menlo Park AcademyTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 330 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
54 miles of trail in 143 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Rocky River Reservation, 650 acres with 7.9 miles of trail. The trail density in Cleveland is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Cleveland | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.1% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rocky River Reservation | 7.9 mi | 650 |
| 2. Rockefeller Park | 5.3 mi | 197 |
| 3. Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve | 2.2 mi | 98 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 2,607 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cleveland’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
41% of Cleveland adults feel lonely. Only 7 of the 993 Ohio towns we compare have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Cleveland. 17% of Cleveland adults report frequent physical distress.
| Cleveland | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 20% | 19% |
| What stands out | Cleveland | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 8.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 19.7% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
277,336 jobs are based in Cleveland, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
42% of Cleveland’s working residents work right in town. Since 2013, Cleveland has added 14,603 jobs, to 277,336 in 2023. The top destinations are Parma (2%), Euclid (2%) and Solon (2%).
| Cleveland | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 42% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 1.6 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $116K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The typical Cleveland home is worth about $116,000, down 0.8% in a year, 53% below the Ohio typical home. 42% of households own their home in Cleveland.
| Cleveland | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 77% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 42% | 48% |
| Median rent | $945 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 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 82 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cleveland.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Cleveland weather station, 10 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 198 days, the highest of 2,573 Ohio places with climate records.
Cleveland has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 23° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
30.6% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.3% across Ohio, which weighs on its C− for jobs and income. The median household earns $40,801, against $71,389 across Ohio.
Adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Cleveland has lost 2.4% of its people since 2020, down to 363,608 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Cleveland | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.3 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 20% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 24% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
51.5% women, 48.5% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 36.7, men 35.8.
| Cleveland | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.5% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.7% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.9% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.3% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.1% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
12 within 15 miles of the center of Cleveland
About 6 of every 100 Cleveland residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
5 colleges in town.
288 places in Cleveland on the National Register of Historic Places.
31 notable people were born in Cleveland.
City in Ohio, United States
Cleveland ( KLEEV-lənd) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the lake from the Canadian province of Ontario, and is approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of the Ohio–Pennsylvania state line. Cleveland is the most populous city on Lake Erie, the 2nd-most populous city in Ohio (after Columbus), and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 372,624 at the 2020 census. The Greater Cleveland metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.17 million residents, is the 34th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuy…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Cleveland.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; East Cleveland (D) is closest. Fairview Park next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Cleveland’s C−) and lower for cost of living (C to B+).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | #978 | D | B+ | D− | C− | D |
| Brook Park | #284 | B+ | B− | A | B | B− |
| Shaker Heights | #331 | B+ | D | — | B | A |
| Cuyahoga Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Cleveland | #964 | D | A− | D− | C− | D− |
| Fairview Park | #238 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
| Brooklyn | #359 | B+ | B | — | C+ | B |
| Lakewood | #262 | A− | C− | B− | B+ | A |
Shaker Heights, Fairview Park and Brooklyn report no FBI crime data of their own. Cuyahoga Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Cleveland with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cleveland grades D overall, better than 7% of U.S. towns and #978 of 987 in Ohio. It grades D for health, D− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 1.6 years of the area's median household income ($70,678 across the Cleveland, OH metro 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+.
31 notable people were born here, including Halle Berry and Hal Holbrook.
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