Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lakewood grades A− overall and ranks 262nd of 987 in Ohio. Nationally, it does better than 76% of U.S. towns. Health is where it shines: it is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns. It also does well on walkability: it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $291K, 4.1 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. The biggest park or preserve is Rocky River Reservation, at 174 acres. 55% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the town, above both the Ohio town median (24%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 14 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap.
Where Lakewood beats most towns.
Detroit Avenue Bridge
Census counts: 3,355 in 1900, a peak of 70,509 in 1930, 50,942 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 6 maps from 1902 on.
14 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Lakewood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lakewood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
6 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
6 mi Stadium & arenaRocket Arena
9 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
10 mi 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 Lakewood, 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 Lakewood.
Lakewood has seen reported crime fall by a third or more and is mostly renters, but it has property taxes about twice the Ohio norm.
Federal aid has come to Lakewood households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2012. 48% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 28%. Since 1979, 37 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Three of its 15 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Lakewood City school district. Public school enrollment locally: 1,732 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 457 | B |
| Lakewood High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,372 | C+ |
| Grant Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 323 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
18% of Lakewood adults get no exercise outside work. Among 993 Ohio towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Lakewood. Against the Ohio average, Lakewood comes out ahead on 20 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 3.
| Lakewood | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 38% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 13% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Lakewood | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.3% | 13.2% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.4% | 3.7% |
| More binge drinkers | 23% | 16.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Across 13 parks and preserves: 2.2 miles of trail. Lakewood’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Lakewood | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rocky River Reservation | 0.4 mi | 174 |
| 2. Lakewood Park | 0.4 mi | 42 |
| 3. Kauffman Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
21.2% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio.
Employers in Lakewood shed 714 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 10,781. Most working residents leave Lakewood for work: only 9% work in town. Just over a fifth of workers work from home locally. Half the trips to work are shorter than 8 miles.
| Lakewood | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lakewood’s peak summer temperature is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median property tax bill is $5,266, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The share of households in Lakewood who own their home: 44%. A typical home in the town is worth about $291,000, up 4.6% in a year, 18% above the Ohio typical home. Homes sold in Lakewood spent a median 21 days on the market.
| Lakewood | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 44% | 77% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 37% | 42% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,070 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 847 to 493 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 40 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
The level of violent crime for Lakewood comes to 0.8 per 1,000 residents. The rate of thefts and burglaries for Lakewood comes to 9.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Lakewood | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
10 within 15 miles of the center of Lakewood
About 7 of every 100 Lakewood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
Where Lakewood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
14 places in Lakewood on the National Register of Historic Places.
32 notable people were born in Lakewood.
City in Ohio, United States
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 50,942 at the 2020 census, making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland and Parma.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Lakewood.
Cleveland next door grades lower for schools (C− to Lakewood’s B+) and higher for cost of living (B+ to C−).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood | #262 | A− | C− | B− | B+ | A |
| Cleveland | #978 | D | B+ | D− | C− | D |
| Rocky River | #17 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Fairview Park | #238 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
Fairview Park reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Lakewood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lakewood grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #262 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
32 notable people were born here, including Brad Friedel and Katie Moon.
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