Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fairport Harbor is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, ranked 906th of 987 in Ohio, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $191K, 2.7 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 80% of the country. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Fairport Harbor, above both the Ohio town median (9.1%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On walkability, just 116 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. Fairport Marine Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Fairport Harbor beats most towns.
Where Fairport Harbor’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 Fairport Harbor is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 296 in 1880, a peak of 4,972 in 1930, 3,108 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 2 maps from 1985 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fairport Harbor, 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 Fairport Harbor.
Fairport Harbor gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Ohio (mostly inland flooding).
Against the 6,568 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fairport Harbor’s, it is less healthy than 56%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
41% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Fairport Harbor. Fairport Harbor beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 15% of adults have diabetes in Fairport Harbor.
| Fairport Harbor | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fairport Harbor | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.3% | 15.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.3% | 7.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 661 in 2013 to 494.
Most working residents leave Fairport Harbor for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Fairport Harbor has lost 167 jobs, to 494 in 2023. The median household income in Fairport Harbor is $52,000.
| Fairport Harbor | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 6.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
58% of Fairport Harbor households own their home. The typical Fairport Harbor home is worth about $191,000, up 3.9% in a year, 22% below the Ohio typical home.
| Fairport Harbor | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $974 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Chardon weather station, 12 miles away, records that 114 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns.
Fairport Harbor’s July high is 81°F. Fairport Harbor has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 29% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Fairport Harbor | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 24% | 29% |
57% women, 43% men
About 76 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±5.2 points). Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Fairport Harbor | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.7% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.9% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.9% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.6% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.3% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.7% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.4% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 4% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,100, single groups can be off by several points
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 86% of Ohio towns, with expected losses of about $272 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2005, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fairport Harbor.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.6 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Fairport Harbor | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park | 0.3 mi | 18 |
| 2. Grand River Landing | — | 10 |
| 3. Fairport Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairport Harbor. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw37 mi LakeLake Erie
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
28 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
28 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
28 mi Stadium & arenaRocket ArenaRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Erie: NOAA, Public domain · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fairport Harbor
About 4 of every 100 Fairport Harbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
3 notable people were born in Fairport Harbor.
Village in Ohio, United States
Fairport Harbor is a village in Lake County, Ohio, United States, along Lake Erie at the mouth of the Grand River. The population was 3,108 at the 2020 census. A far-eastern suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Fairport Harbor is home to two lighthouses: the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light in Painesville Township, operated by the United States Coast Guard and the Fairport Harbor Light operated by the Fairport Harbor Historical Society. It is also the home of the Finnish Heritage Museum.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Fairport Harbor.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairport Harbor | #906 | C− | B− | — | C | C− |
| Painesville · Painesville Township | #867 | C− | B− | — | B− | D |
| Grand River | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Fairport Harbor and Painesville report no FBI crime data of their own. Grand River isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Painesville Township and Painesville are one community, graded once. Compare Fairport Harbor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fairport Harbor grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #906 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C− for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Chris Jansing and Donald Blakeslee.
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