Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Few places in the country grade higher. Plain City earns an A+, ranked 11th of 987 in Ohio. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, the median household earns $118K, and its public schools beat 83% of Ohio towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest mark, a B−, is in cost of living. Plain City’s concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, where Ohio’s towns sit at 0.2 and U.S. towns at 0.4. On health, just 154 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. Farmers National Bank is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Plain City beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Plain City | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 14.1% |
Where Plain City’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 Plain City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1795, comes before those of 95% of the Ohio towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 908 in 1880, 4,065 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1891 and 3 maps from 1916 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Plain City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaOhio Stadium
9 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
16 mi Stadium & arenaHistoric Crew Stadium
17 mi Stadium & arenaScottsMiracle-Gro Field
15 mi Stadium & arenaValue City Arena
30 mi MountainCampbell HillOhio Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Historic Crew Stadium: Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · ScottsMiracle-Gro Field: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Value City Arena: Nick81aku at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Campbell Hill: Analogue Kid (talk)., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plain City, 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 Plain City.
Plain City has less food insecurity than most of Ohio and has household incomes well above the Ohio norm, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Ohio.
At 6.6 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $541K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
For households in Plain City, the share who are owner-occupiers is 82%. On the market in the town: a median 47 days to sell. In Plain City, 27% of sales closed above the list price.
| Plain City | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $985 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Pastime Park, at 40 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Across 2 parks and preserves: 4.5 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pastime Park | 1.1 mi | 40 |
| 2. McKitrick Park | 0.3 mi | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Plain City’s violent offense rate is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Plain City | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Ohio is food insecurity: 7.9% of its 2,999 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.1% statewide. Against the 6,024 U.S. towns with household incomes like Plain City’s, it is healthier than 61%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Plain City: a quarter of adults have been diagnosed with depression. In Plain City, 14% of adults say their health is fair or poor, and 19% binge drink.
| Plain City | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 20% | 19% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Plain City | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.2% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 819 in 2013 to 1,104.
Jobs in Plain City grew by 285 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 1,104. For most workers, Plain City is a place to come home to: only 4% work in town. Plain City: 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line, below both the Ohio town median (9.1%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). The top destinations are Columbus (33%), Dublin (10%) and Marysville (4%).
| Plain City | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $118,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 6.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 85° and January nights of 20°, with about 24 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Since 1979, Plain City has seen 5 flood insurance claims paid out. Compared with 65% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower. Expected losses in Plain City break down as 64% from inland flooding and 12% from tornadoes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Plain City
About 5 of every 100 Plain City residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
8 notable people were born in Plain City.
Village in Madison and Union counties, Ohio, US
Plain City is a village in Madison and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, along the Big Darby Creek. The population was 4,065 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Plain City grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #11 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A− for health, A+ for safety and A− for schools.
That is 6.6 years of the area's median household income ($81,945 across the Columbus, 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−.
8 notable people were born here, including James Dillion and Aaron John Sharp.
