Rock House V, 2009
Laurel Township’s story
Laurel Township in pictures
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2009.
Explore the history →
Laurel TownshipOH
A town of 1,053.
4 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Yprahs · CC BY 3.0
Population
1,053
2025 Census estimate · −2.1% since 2020
Median home value
$312K
Census ACS
Household income
$64K
median
Median age
51.9
years
Jobs based here
83
A commuter town
Is Laurel Township a good place to live?
The best of Laurel Township’s subject grades are an A− for cost of living and an A for the outdoors; the weakest is a D for walkability. Laurel Township’s average trip to work is 51 minutes, against 24 minutes in Ohio’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Only 5 of the 994 Ohio towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Laurel Township. 24% of the land in Laurel Township is conserved, against 3.7% in Ohio’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Hocking State Forest, at 4,676 acres with 26.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Only 67 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on the outdoors. Laurel Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Small town
1,053 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Benton TownshipPerry TownshipFalls TownshipGood Hope TownshipLaurel Township
How Laurel Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Laurel Township is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.6 of 20; 0% of households have no carDOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $312K, 3.8 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household incomeA−Open →HealthHocking Valley Community Hospital 8.7 miles awayCOpen →SchoolsBeat 67% of Ohio districts on tests and graduationB+Open →Jobs & income$64K median household incomeC+Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Laurel Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Laurel Township, and how to reach them.
PowerSouth Central Power Company15.4¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
InternetProviders and speedsData pending · D4
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Laurel Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Ohio you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereDirector, Hocking County Board of ElectionsHocking County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2019
ZIP codes43149, 43138, 4313543149 80% · 43138 11% · 43135 9%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Laurel Township.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Most of Laurel Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.3 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Laurel Township for work: only 0% work in town. Jobs based in Laurel Township grew to 83 in 2023, 38 more than in 2013. 6.3% of Laurel Township residents live below the poverty line.
0%work in town
Where working residents work
In Laurel Township0%
Logan20%
Lancaster11%
Athens4%
Columbus4%
19 mi
median commute distance
83
jobs based in Laurel Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
OutdoorsA
23.6% of Laurel Township is conserved land
33 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Laurel Township’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
23.6%conserved
23.6%
conserved · 5,763 of 24,405 acres
33 mi
of trails · 0.9 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hocking State Forest | 26.2 mi | 4,676 |
| 2. Hocking Hills State Park | 1.9 mi | 361 |
| 3. Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve | 1 mi | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HealthC
On CDC estimates, Laurel Township is less healthy than 71% of U.S. towns
Laurel Township beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 42% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Laurel Township.
29%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Laurel Township | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Ohio
0 better27 too close to call5 worse
| What stands out | Laurel Township | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 8% |
| More smokers | 18.2% | 15.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.7% |
Hocking Valley Community Hospital
8.7 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
In Laurel Township, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Laurel Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 21° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
15″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter24–40°
Spring40–63°
Summer61–82°
Fall43–65°
Oct 14
typical first frost
Apr 30
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Laurel Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities.
58risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland flooding
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Laurel Township
18pages on Laurel Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Laurel Township; the nearest are
Ohio University-Lancaster CampusUniversity or college · Public · Lancaster16.3 mi$6,362 in-state tuitionHocking CollegeCommunity college · Public · Nelsonville19.4 mi$5,540 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Laurel Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
A shrinking town
Laurel Township has shrunk 13% since 2010
1,166 counted in 2010 and 1,042 in 2020; an estimated 1,053 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
About Laurel Township
Township in Ohio, US
Laurel Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 1,042.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 38 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,119 ft
Questions about Laurel Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Laurel Township, OH expensive?
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−.