Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Oberlin's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B+, 390th among Ohio's 987 graded towns. It is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns and it has 5 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 11 places on the National Register. 11% of residents are under 18 in Oberlin, below both the Ohio town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Only 2 of Ohio’s 1,560 towns score higher on civic life. Oberlin is home to Oberlin College.
Where Oberlin beats most towns.
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is one of 3 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,115 in 1860, 8,555 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 3 maps from 1901 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Oberlin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oberlin, 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 Oberlin.
Oberlin is shaped by its college students and has commutes shorter than most of Ohio.
Oberlin’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Oberlin Arboretum, 47 acres with 2.1 miles of trail.
| Oberlin | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oberlin Arboretum | 2.1 mi | 47 |
| 2. Tappan Square | — | 11 |
| 3. Park Street Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Oberlin City Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 356 | – |
| Oberlin High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 218 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
The FEMA risk score in Oberlin is 4 of 100. Since 2004, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Oberlin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Oberlin beats the Ohio average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 10% of Oberlin adults smoke cigarettes.
| Oberlin | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 38% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Oberlin | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer smokers | 10.3% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 8.3% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 81.7% | 86.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Oberlin has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 20° and about 47 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,876 working residents takes 16.9 minutes, against 23.4 across Ohio.
About one in 4 of Oberlin’s working residents works in town. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Oberlin. The top destinations are Cleveland (12%), Elyria (6%) and Lorain (3%).
| Oberlin | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Oberlin home is worth about $242,000, up 3.3% in a year, close to the Ohio typical home.
| Oberlin | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $995 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Oberlin
College town 34 of every 100 Oberlin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
11 places in Oberlin on the National Register of Historic Places.
33 notable people were born in Oberlin.
City in Lorain County, Ohio, US
Oberlin () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located about 31 miles (50 km) southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the Anti-Saloon League and the Hall–Héroult process, the process of reducing aluminum from its fluoride salts by electrolysis, which made industrial production of aluminum possible.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Oberlin.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oberlin | #390 | B+ | B− | B− | B+ | B+ |
| New Russia Township | — | — | B | — | B+ | B− |
| Pittsfield Township | — | — | C+ | — | B | B− |
New Russia Township and Pittsfield Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. New Russia Township and Pittsfield Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oberlin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Oberlin grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #390 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($70,678 across the Cleveland, OH metro 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−.
33 notable people were born here, including David Lewis and Lynn Shelton.
