Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Fostoria gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $144K, 2.2 years of the Tiffin area’s $66K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 675th among Ohio's 987 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 87% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $54K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, 4% of its land is conserved. 23% of working residents work locally in Fostoria, where Ohio’s towns sit at 6.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. Lake Mosier Park, at 156 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Fostoria beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Fostoria is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,027 in 1860, 13,046 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1886 and 3 maps from 1901 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fostoria, 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 Fostoria.
Fostoria has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
| Fostoria | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fostoria Reservoir Park | 1.9 mi | 71 |
| 2. Lake Mosier Park | 1.5 mi | 156 |
| 3. Foundation Park | 0.2 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Fostoria City school district. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Fostoria Junior/Senior High School, with 725 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fostoria Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 1,050 | C |
| Fostoria Junior/Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 725 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
33% of adults get no exercise outside work in Fostoria. Fostoria beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Fostoria.
| Fostoria | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 28% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| What stands out | Fostoria | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 10.5% | 8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.6% | 15.3% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 33.4% | 26.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.2 years of the Tiffin area’s $66K median household income, the typical home (about $144K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,205, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Fostoria is $809 a month. The typical Fostoria home is worth about $144,000, up 3.6% in a year, 42% below the Ohio typical home. 66% of Fostoria households own their home.
| Fostoria | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $809 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in 4 of Fostoria’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Fostoria fell to 4,176 in 2023, 283 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Findlay (17%), Tiffin (4%) and Allen Township (3%).
| Fostoria | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $54,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fostoria.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fostoria has chilly winters and warm 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
Reported crimes fell from 183 to 91 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 15 reported in 2025, 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
Fostoria’s property crime rate is 5.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Fostoria | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.8 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fostoria. Close and well known come first.
35 mi MuseumToledo Museum of Art340K visitors a year
33 mi Zoo & aquariumToledo Zoo
30 mi LandmarkFort Meigs
35 mi MuseumImagination Station
35 mi MuseumNational Museum of the Great Lakes
17 mi MuseumWood County MuseumToledo Museum of Art: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Toledo Zoo: DreamingKoala, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Meigs: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Imagination Station: MrJacon000, CC BY-SA 4.0 · National Museum of the Great Lakes: MrJacon000, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wood County Museum: Nyttend, Public domain
4 within 15 miles of the center of Fostoria
About 3 of every 100 Fostoria residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
4 places in Fostoria on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Fostoria.
City in Ohio, United States
Fostoria (, foss-TORR-EE-ə) is a city located at the convergence of Hancock, Seneca, and Wood counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 13,046 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 13,441 at the 2010 census. It is approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo and 90 miles (140 km) north of Columbus. The community grew substantially during the end of the 19th century, coinciding with the northwest Ohio gas boom. Typical of Rust Belt cities, Fostoria peaked in size in 1970. Fostoria was a major site for the glass industry, having over a dozen glass factories during the end of the 19th century. As the area's gas supply became depleted, many of the factor…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Fostoria.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fostoria | #675 | C+ | A | B | C | D |
| Loudon Township | — | — | A | — | A | C− |
| Jackson Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Perry Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
Loudon Township and Perry Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Loudon Township and Perry Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Jackson Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Fostoria with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fostoria grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #675 of 987 in Ohio. It grades D for health, B for safety and C for schools. Health 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.
16 notable people were born here, including Grant Jackson and Micah Hyde.
