Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Reading gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $229K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 757th of 987 in Ohio. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its crime rate is higher than 75% of U.S. towns, with 32 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 77% of U.S. towns. Reading’s property crime rate is 21.2 per 1,000 residents, above both the Ohio town median (9.4) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9).
Where Reading beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Reading is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,230 in 1860, a peak of 14,617 in 1970, 10,600 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1951 and 6 maps from 1898 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Reading. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year
10 mi Stadium & arenaPaycor Stadium
10 mi Stadium & arenaGreat American Ball Park
8 mi Stadium & arenaNippert Stadium
7 mi Zoo & aquariumCincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden1.2M visitors a year
9 mi Stadium & arenaTQL StadiumKings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paycor Stadium: JonRidinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great American Ball Park: Eric Kilby profile at Flickr website, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nippert Stadium: Ben Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · TQL Stadium: Cornfield948, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Reading, 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 Reading.
Reading is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Ohio (mostly inland flooding).
1.1 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Reading | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Koening Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
| 2. Amberley Green | — | 3 |
| 3. Vorhees Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Reading Community City school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Reading Junior Senior High School, with 654 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 770 | – |
| Reading Junior Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 654 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
The violent crime rate in Reading is 2.8 per 1,000 residents. Reading reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 75% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Reading has chilly winters and warm summers. Reading’s July high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Reading for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Reading has lost 662 jobs, to 4,521 in 2023. 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Reading.
| Reading | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.9% | 6.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,372 U.S. towns with household incomes like Reading’s, it is healthier than 62%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Reading tracks Ohio closely on all 32 CDC measures. 28% of Reading adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Reading | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Children under 18 are 18% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 42% of residents (38% statewide). 25% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Reading | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 45.3 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Reading | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.7% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.3% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.9% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.8% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.7% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of Ohio towns, with expected losses of about $395 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1979, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Reading.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Reading home is worth about $229,000, up 1.3% in a year, 7% below the Ohio typical home.
| Reading | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $940 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 within 15 miles of the center of Reading
About 4 of every 100 Reading residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
City in Ohio, United States
Reading (pronounced RED-ing) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 10,600 at the 2020 census. It is an inner suburb of Cincinnati and is included as part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Reading.
Blue Ash next door grades higher for schools (A to Reading’s B−) and lower for cost of living (D to B).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | #757 | C+ | B | C | B− | C+ |
| Evendale | #696 | C+ | C− | D− | B− | A |
| Amberley | #277 | B+ | C− | A− | C | A |
| Lockland | #907 | C− | A | D | C− | D |
| Arlington Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sycamore Township | #462 | B | C− | — | B | A |
| Blue Ash | #211 | A− | D | C+ | A | A |
| Dillonvale | #163 | A− | B− | — | B | A− |
Sycamore Township and Dillonvale report no FBI crime data of their own. Arlington Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Reading with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Reading grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #757 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
2 notable people were born here, including John Boehner and Carl Rudolph Krafft.
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