Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Garfield Heights grades D overall, ranked 965th of 987 in Ohio, mostly because of health and safety. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 89% of the country. Its police reported 118 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. What it does well: natural-hazard risk is low. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Garfield Heights, where Ohio’s towns sit at 9.1% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On walkability, just 70 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. Garfield Heights's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Garfield Heights beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Garfield Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,530 in 1920, a peak of 41,417 in 1970, 29,781 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1918 and 5 maps from 1903 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garfield Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
2 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
8 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
7 mi Stadium & arenaRocket Arena
6 mi MuseumCleveland Museum of Art410K visitors a yearRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cleveland Museum of Art: zenbikescience, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Garfield Heights, 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 Garfield Heights.
Garfield Heights has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
3.6 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Garfield Park Reservation, at 202 acres with 2.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Garfield Heights | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garfield Park Reservation | 2.9 mi | 202 |
| 2. Crudele Park | 0.1 mi | 8 |
| 3. Jack C. Donovan Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Garfield Heights City Schools. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Heights Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 541 | D |
| Garfield Heights High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 942 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
41% of adults feel lonely in Garfield Heights. Garfield Heights beats the Ohio average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 26% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Garfield Heights.
| Garfield Heights | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Garfield Heights | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.4% | 8.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 16.8% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Garfield Heights.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $139K) costs less against local pay than in 93% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living. 61% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.9% across Ohio.
The typical Garfield Heights home is worth about $139,000, up 4% in a year, 43% below the Ohio typical home. 59% of Garfield Heights households own their home.
| Garfield Heights | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,129 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 693 to 573 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Garfield Heights’ violent crime rate is 4.1 per 1,000 residents. Garfield Heights reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less. Garfield Heights’ property crime rate is 15.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Garfield Heights | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.8 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Garfield Heights has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Garfield Heights is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Garfield Heights for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Cleveland (29%), Solon (4%) and Independence (4%). Half commute less than 7 miles.
| Garfield Heights | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.5% | 6.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
12 within 15 miles of the center of Garfield Heights
About 4 of every 100 Garfield Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
10 notable people were born in Garfield Heights.
City in Ohio, United States
Garfield Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 29,781 at the time of the 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Garfield Heights.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Heights | #965 | D | C+ | C− | C | D |
| Cleveland | #978 | D | B+ | D− | C− | D |
| Valley View | — | — | C | — | A | A |
| Maple Heights | #918 | C− | C+ | — | C | D |
| Cuyahoga Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Valley View has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Valley View and Maple Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Cuyahoga Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Garfield Heights with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Garfield Heights grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #965 of 987 in Ohio. It grades D for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2 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 C+.
10 notable people were born here, including David J. Skal and Tom Zakrajsek.
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