Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Parma is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, ranked 410th of 987 in Ohio, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 67% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 62% of the country. A typical home there costs about $215K, 3 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. Only 101 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on walkability. Parma’s trail network density is 1.1 miles per square mile, against 0.2 in Ohio’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Parma is home to Bryant & Stratton College-Parma.
Where Parma beats most towns.
9.6% of the town is conserved land, across 21 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Parma is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 13,899 in 1930, 81,146 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 6 maps from 1903 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Parma. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
9 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
5 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
8 mi Stadium & arenaRocket Arena
11 mi MuseumCleveland Museum of Art410K visitors a yearRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cleveland Museum of Art: zenbikescience, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Parma, 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 Parma.
Parma is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports more crime than Seven Hills and its other graded neighbors.
The biggest place to walk is West Creek Reservation, 372 acres with 7.9 miles of trail. Walkers can cover 22 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Creek Reservation | 7.9 mi | 372 |
| 2. Veterans Memorial Park | 1.5 mi | 79 |
| 3. James W Day Park | 0.6 mi | 59 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Parma City school district runs its public schools. Of its 24 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The 6 public schools in Parma teach 3,127 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenbriar Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 1,064 | C+ |
| Normandy High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,610 | B |
| Global Village AcademyTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 235 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
For most workers, Parma is a place to come home to: only 10% work in town. Jobs here fell by 3,180 from 2013 to 2023, to 22,219. The top destinations are Cleveland (27%), Middleburg Heights (3%) and Independence (3%). Half the trips to work are shorter than 8 miles.
| Parma | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $69,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.6% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 12% | 9.7% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Parma’s FEMA hazard score comes in at 25 of 100. 62% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 19%. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Parma after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2012.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Parma is safe by national standards, yet each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Seven Hills (B+) to Parma Heights (A).
The property crime rate for Parma comes to 7.2 per 1,000 residents, below both Ohio’s towns (9.4) and U.S. towns (9.9). The violent crime rate for Parma comes to 1.5 per 1,000 residents, where Ohio’s towns sit at 1.2 and U.S. towns at 1.6.
| Parma | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.2 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
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,458 U.S. towns with household incomes like Parma’s, it is healthier than 79%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
In Parma, 78% of adults had a checkup this year. Against the Ohio average, Parma comes out ahead on 4 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 1. Among adults in the town, 37% feel lonely and 33% have obesity.
| Parma | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Parma | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.8% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 11.3% | 13.2% |
| More binge drinkers | 19.8% | 16.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes sold in Parma spent a median 9 days on the market. The typical Parma home is worth about $215,000, up 3.9% in a year, 13% below the Ohio typical home. In Parma, 56% of sales closed above the list price.
| Parma | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,087 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 44% | 42% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 77% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Children under 18 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Parma at 78,581 residents, down 3.1% since 2020. Ohio has 32% of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 24%.
| Parma | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.4 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 20% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1 point. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.9, men 40.2.
| Parma | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.6% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.9% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.9% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.4% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.8% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.7% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
10 within 15 miles of the center of Parma
About 5 of every 100 Parma residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
2 places in Parma on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Parma.
City in Ohio, United States
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb south of Cleveland. The population was 81,146 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 78,581 in 2025, making it the seventh-most populous city in Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, and the second-largest city in Cuyahoga County. Part of the Greater Cleveland has an estimated 2,171,877 residents in the 2024 estimate. Parma is located approximately 8 miles (13 km) south of Cleveland.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Parma.
North Royalton next door grades higher for schools (A to Parma’s B−) and lower for cost of living (C− to B−).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parma | #410 | B+ | B− | B+ | B− | B |
| Parma Heights | #465 | B | C | A | B− | B− |
| Seven Hills | #318 | B+ | C− | B+ | B− | A− |
| North Royalton | #152 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Brook Park | #284 | B+ | B− | A | B | B− |
North Royalton reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Parma with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Parma grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #410 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B for health, B+ for safety and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
21 notable people were born here, including The Miz and Michael T. Good.
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