Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,692, settled in 1834.
Ontario's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B−, 623rd of 987 graded towns in Ohio. Its schools outperform 86% of the state's. Its weakest subject is safety: its crime rate is higher than 78% of U.S. towns, with 10 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Springfield Township School is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ontario is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Marshall Park, at 150 acres.
Where Ontario beats most towns.
Where Ontario’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Ontario is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,049 in 1960, 6,656 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 5 maps from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ontario, 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 Ontario.
Ontario draws workers from Mansfield and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
7,787 jobs are based in Ontario, 2.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Ontario for work: only 13% work in town. At 19 minutes, Ontario’s average trip to work is below both Ohio’s towns (24 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Jobs based in Ontario grew to 7,787 in 2023, 676 more than in 2013.
| Ontario | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $69,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 2 of 100, Ontario’s FEMA risk score is below both the Ohio town median (23 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100). One flood insurance claim has been paid in Ontario since 1981.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
4.5 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Ontario | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.6% | 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. Marshall Park | — | 150 |
| 2. Stowell Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Doris Carr Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ontario’s property crime rate is 23.9 per 1,000 residents. Ontario reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 78% report less.
| Ontario | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.9 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Ontario has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Ontario is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Ohio average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Ontario | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 39.9 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 24% | 29% |
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±4.1 points). Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Ontario | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.3% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.6% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.1% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.8% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.1% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.4% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.2% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.6% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Ontario home is worth about $240,000, up 3.6% in a year, close to the Ohio typical home. 59% of Ontario households own their home.
| Ontario | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,093 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 10,400 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ontario’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Ontario beats the Ohio average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 15% of adults binge drink in Ontario.
| Ontario | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Ontario | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.2% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ontario. Close and well known come first.
6 mi MuseumOhio State Reformatory
30 mi LandmarkHarding Tomb
14 mi State parkMalabar Farm State Park
4 mi GardenKingwood Center
5 mi MuseumMansfield Memorial Museum
6 mi MuseumBibleWalkOhio State Reformatory: Niagara66, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Harding Tomb: User:Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Malabar Farm State Park: Jerward at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Kingwood Center: Mar07 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Mansfield Memorial Museum: Publichall, CC BY-SA 3.0 · BibleWalk: JBTHEMILKER, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ontario
About 5 of every 100 Ontario residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
City in Ohio, United States
Ontario is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6,656. It is part of the Mansfield metropolitan area. It was founded in 1834 on the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau, just west of the city of Mansfield. After being incorporated in 1958, Ontario became a heavy manufacturing center because of the Erie Railroad line, and its proximity to Mansfield. However, its status in that regard began to decline in the late 20th century, when much of the Erie Railroad that once ran through the city was abandoned; and shifts in the manufacturing industry led to the relocation or repositioning of many factories. The city's industry has since …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ontario.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | #623 | B− | C+ | C− | A | B− |
| Springfield Township | #663 | C+ | C | — | A | D |
| Mansfield | #949 | D | B+ | C− | C+ | D− |
Springfield Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ontario with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ontario grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #623 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B− for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4 years of the area's median household income ($59,509 across the Mansfield, 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 C+.
