Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lancaster gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $276K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income. It grades C overall, 844th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its crime rate is higher than 80% of U.S. towns, with 161 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 75% of the country. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 12 places on the National Register. 26% of working residents work locally in Lancaster, above both the Ohio town median (6.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include John Sherman Birthplace and St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Lancaster is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns.
Where Lancaster beats most towns.
John Sherman Birthplace
John Sherman Birthplace is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,037 in 1820, 40,552 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1881 and 4 maps from 1907 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 Lancaster is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster.
Lancaster trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and trades workers with Columbus and other neighbors, but it scores below Hocking Township and its other neighbors on health.
8.3 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Keller-Kirn Park, 80 acres with 1.9 miles of trail.
| Lancaster | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Keller-Kirn Park | 1.9 mi | 80 |
| 2. Rising Park | 1.2 mi | 75 |
| 3. Olivedale Park | 0.3 mi | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, Greenfield Township highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Lancaster City school district. Two of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Ewing Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 643 | C |
| Lancaster High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,995 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 1,044 to 868 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Lancaster is 3.8 per 1,000 residents. Lancaster reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 80% report less. The property crime rate in Lancaster is 16.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Lancaster | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.9 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its C−, from Hocking Township (C+) to Greenfield Township (B−).
28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Lancaster. Lancaster beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 40% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Lancaster.
| Lancaster | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Lancaster | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 8% |
| More smokers | 18% | 15.4% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.2% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Lancaster has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Lancaster has about as many jobs (17,398) as working residents, but only 4,644 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Lancaster’s working residents works in town. Lancaster’s average trip to work is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Columbus (22%), Greenfield Township (3%) and Canal Winchester (2%).
| Lancaster | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 9.3% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lancaster has grown 3.5% since 2020, to 41,956 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Lancaster | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.4 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 24% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.3, men 36.5.
| Lancaster | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.6% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.7% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.5% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.9% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Homes are within reach (about $276K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles.
59% of Lancaster households own their home. The typical Lancaster home is worth about $276,000, up 2.8% in a year, 12% above the Ohio typical home.
| Lancaster | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 77% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 51% | 42% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,083 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
79 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 79 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lancaster.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lancaster
About 4 of every 100 Lancaster residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
12 places in Lancaster on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Ohio, United States
Lancaster (locally LANK-(ə-)stər) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren and Findlay due to its own growth while the latter two cities declined. The city is near the Hocking River in the south-central part of the state, about 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Columbus and 38 miles (61 km) southwest of Zanesville. It is part of the Columbus metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Lancaster.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Pleasant Township (C+) is closest.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | #844 | C | B | C− | C+ | C− |
| Hocking Township | #588 | B− | B− | — | B− | C+ |
| Pleasant Township | #767 | C+ | C+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Greenfield Township | #394 | B+ | C+ | — | A− | B− |
| Berne Township | #494 | B | A− | — | B | C+ |
Hocking Township, Pleasant Township, Greenfield Township and Berne Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Lancaster with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lancaster grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #844 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Safety 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.
