Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Granville is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 27th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. Its schools outperform 97% of the state's, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country, and the median household earns $124K. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $521K for a typical one and 6.4 times the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 12 places on the National Register. 66% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Granville, where Ohio’s towns sit at 24% and U.S. towns at 29%. On walkability, just 53 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. Granville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Where Granville beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Granville | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.9% | 8% |
Buxton Inn
Census counts: 199 in 1820, 5,946 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 4 maps from 1908 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Granville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for schools (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 13%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Granville, 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 Granville.
Granville is shaped by its college students and has less COPD than most of Ohio, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Ohio.
At 6.4 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $521K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $8,027, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Granville home is worth about $521,000, up 3% in a year, about twice the Ohio typical home. 82% of households own their home in Granville.
| Granville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 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
4.4 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Granville’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. Denison University Biological Preserve, at 192 acres with 2.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Granville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.5% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Denison University Biological Preserve | 2.7 mi | 192 |
| 2. Sugar Loaf Park | 0.5 mi | 8 |
| 3. Raccoon Valley Park | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Ohio is COPD: 3.9% of its 5,032 adults have COPD, against 8% statewide.
8.9% of Granville adults report frequent physical distress. Among 993 Ohio towns, just 6 have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Granville. 38% of Granville adults feel lonely.
| Granville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.7% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.2% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Granville | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.9% | 8% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.1% | 8.3% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 73% | 79.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 70 to 23 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Granville is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| Granville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Granville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Granville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 2,059 in 2013 to 2,730. 24.8% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio.
Most working residents leave Granville for work: only 13% work in town. Jobs based in Granville grew to 2,730 in 2023, 671 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Columbus (23%), Newark (12%) and New Albany (3%).
| Granville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $124,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Granville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaOhio Stadium
26 mi Stadium & arenaHistoric Crew Stadium
28 mi Stadium & arenaScottsMiracle-Gro Field
in town Ancient siteAlligator Effigy Mound
33 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
28 mi Stadium & arenaValue City ArenaOhio Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Historic Crew Stadium: Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · ScottsMiracle-Gro Field: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alligator Effigy Mound: Rev. Stephen D. Peet, editor, Public domain · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Value City Arena: Nick81aku at English Wikipedia, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Granville
College town 34 of every 100 Granville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
12 places in Granville on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village in Ohio, United States
Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,946 at the 2020 census. The village is located in a rural area of hills, known locally as the Welsh Hills, in central Ohio. It is 35 miles (56 km) east of Columbus, the state capital, and 7 miles (11 km) west of Newark, the county seat. The village began as a settlement by European-Americans of Welsh descent. It has long served as a hub for education in the area. It also served as a hotbed for Temperance Movement and Abolitionist activity. Granville is home to Denison University. The village has a number of historic buildings, including Greek Revival structures like the Avery Downer House, St. Luke's Episcop…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Granville.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granville | #27 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A |
| Granville Township | #25 | A+ | C | — | A+ | A |
| Newark | #789 | C | A− | C | C+ | C− |
| Union Township | #308 | B+ | B− | — | A | B− |
| Granville South | — | — | C+ | — | A+ | A |
| Newark Township | — | — | A | — | B− | C |
Granville South and Newark Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Granville Township, Union Township, Granville South and Newark Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Granville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Granville grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #27 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A for health, A− for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
