Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Niles gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $137K for a typical one, or 2.4 years of the Youngstown metro’s $57K median household income. It grades C− overall, 902nd among Ohio's 987 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 84% of the country, and its police reported 30 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 77% of U.S. towns. 54% of households own their home in Niles, where Ohio’s towns sit at 77% and U.S. towns at 73%. Its National Register listings include McKinley Memorial and Niles Masonic Temple.
Where Niles beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Niles is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,879 in 1880, 18,443 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1862 and 5 maps from 1908 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Niles, 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 Niles.
Niles is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and trades workers with Warren and other neighbors.
Against the 6,113 U.S. towns with household incomes like Niles’s, it is less healthy than 61%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
15% of Niles adults have diabetes. Niles beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 19% of Niles adults smoke cigarettes.
| Niles | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Niles | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 8% |
| More smokers | 18.7% | 15.4% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.6% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.4 years of the Youngstown metro’s $57K median household income, the typical home (about $137K) costs less against local pay than in 81% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Home values rose 51% in five years, to about $137K, against 30% across Ohio.
Typical home values rose 6.7% in the year to September 2026. Niles’ median rent is $798 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 553 to 288 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Niles reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 77% report less. The property crime rate in Niles is 14.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Niles | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Niles has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Niles has about as many jobs (7,785) as working residents, but only 1,138 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Niles for work: only 15% work in town. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Niles. Since 2013, Niles has lost 1,351 jobs, to 7,785 in 2023.
| Niles | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 5.1% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Niles.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.6 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Waddell Park, at 71 acres.
| Niles | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stevens Park | 0.3 mi | 46 |
| 2. Waddell Park | — | 71 |
| 3. Niles Trailhead Park | — | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Niles. Close and well known come first.
38 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
34 mi Theme parkSeaWorld Ohio
8 mi MuseumButler Institute of American Art11 mi Park & preserveMill Creek Park
38 mi Theme parkConneaut Lake Park
27 mi Theme parkCascade ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · SeaWorld Ohio: Jeremy Thompson from Los Angeles, California, CC BY 2.0 · Butler Institute of American Art: Lorinda Dixon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Conneaut Lake Park: daveynin from United States, CC BY 2.0 · Cascade Park: Pianotech, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Niles
About 4 of every 100 Niles residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
3 places in Niles on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Ohio, United States
Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,443 at the 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek, Niles is a suburb in the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, and roughly halfway between the two principal cities. Niles is best known as the birthplace of William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States. Located in the Rust Belt, the city's economy focused initially on iron manufacturing but later diversified to include steel and glass production. After the decline of heavy industry in the region in the 1970s, Niles became a retail hub for the northern Mahoning Valley with development centered around the Eastwo…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Niles.
Howland Township next door grades higher for schools (A− to Niles’s C+) and lower for cost of living (C to B+).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles | #902 | C− | B+ | C− | C+ | C− |
| McKinley Heights | — | — | C | — | C+ | C |
| Weathersfield Township | #765 | C+ | B+ | B− | B− | C− |
| Hilltop | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bolindale | — | — | B+ | — | A− | D− |
| McDonald | #81 | A | B | — | A | B+ |
| Howland Township | #688 | C+ | C | — | A− | C |
| Warren | #923 | C− | B+ | — | C | D− |
McKinley Heights and Bolindale have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. McKinley Heights, Bolindale, McDonald, Howland Township and Warren report no FBI crime data of their own. Hilltop isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Niles with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Niles grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #902 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
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