Columbus, the state capital · Photo: Paul Wasneski · Public domainHow Ohio stacks up
Ohio’s standout town is St. Marys Township, #5 in the country for cost of living. The overall grade: A, a score of 86 that ranks 8th. Its strength is strong schools; its weak spot, slow growth (+2.3% from 2010 to 2020).
Each subject puts the official state figure beside a measure built from our town grades. How this works
Safety
17th of 51B+68/100 Somewhat below-average crime. At 288 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Ohio sits 23rd lowest among the states. Its standout is Broadview Heights, #7 in the country for safety. The town measure covers 72% of residents; many places have no police force of their own.
Add property crime, weighted as our town grades weigh it, and it ranks 26th lowest.
Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer, state estimate 2025.
Measure: reported crime per resident over the engine’s three crime years (property + 4 × violent), as in our Safety grades. 181 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 3,410 nationally. Covers 72% of residents of Ohio’s 10,000+ towns.
Where most people live, crime runs higher
Boardman Township and Heath land in the high-crime quarter on property crime; their violent-crime rates are below the typical U.S. town’s. At the safe end sit Olmsted Township (#25), Genoa Township (#44) and Montville Township (#52) in the national ranking of towns of 10,000+. The quarter reporting the most crime per resident takes in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
| State | Safest quarter | Most-crime quarter | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 42% | 0% | |
| Rhode Island | 37% | 0% | |
| New Jersey | 35% | 20% | |
| Pennsylvania | 29% | 37% | |
| Maine | 29% | 15% | |
| Ohio | 19% | 42% |
Many places go uncounted
Town figures come from each police department’s own reports to the FBI, and a town needs enough of the last three years reported to count. That covers 72% of the people in Ohio’s towns of 10,000+. Youngstown, Middletown, Union Township and 20 more are missing too many years to count. In Washington Township, Beavercreek Township, Plain Township and 97 other places, county or state police answer the calls, so there is no town figure. Next door, coverage runs from 42% in Indiana to 98% in Kentucky.
Schools
10th of 51A−82/100 Strong results in the classroom. 35% of its 4th and 8th graders reach Proficient on the Nation’s Report Card, against 31% nationally (10th highest). Town by town it lands near the middle, with Granville Township its best at #69 of 5,230.
In the class of 2023, 86.2% graduated on time, 25th lowest; graduation counts as much as test results in the grade.
Spending: $16,610 per pupil, 24th highest. Shown for context, not graded.
Source: NCES, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2024, public schools; EDFacts graduation rates; Census school finance.
Measure: graduation rate and test results, averaged; each district’s state-test proficiency is put on the NAEP yardstick (its result ÷ the state average × the state’s NAEP proficiency) so districts compare across states. 304 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,230 nationally.
Cost of living
19th of 51B64/100 Somewhat affordable. Compared with $3,119 nationally, the typical tax bill here is $2,822. Its larger towns score well almost across the board, from Van Wert to Pleasant Township. Few places anywhere beat St. Marys Township, #5 of 5,235 towns for affordability.
Against income, home values rank 5th lowest: 3.0 times the median household’s.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: our cost-of-living score: home value, rent and tax bill against area income, plus the share paying 30%+ for housing. 304 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Health
33rd of 51C+36/100 Slightly worse health than average. Compared with 19% nationally, 19% of adults here report fair or poor health. Its towns mostly sit mid-table; Upper Arlington ranks highest, at #150.
Source: CDC PLACES 2025 release (BRFSS model estimates).
Measure: our health score: seven CDC PLACES measures (general, physical and mental health, obesity, diabetes, smoking, inactivity). 304 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,218 nationally.
Housing
23rd of 51B56/100 A little above average for owning. Home ownership stands at 67%, the 24th lowest rate of the 50 states and D.C. Town by town it lands near the middle, with Bath Township its best at #28 of 5,235.
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied. 304 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Natural hazards
7th of 51A88/100 Low risk, town after town. Compared with $155 nationally, FEMA expects $89 a year in damage per $100,000 of buildings here. Almost no one here lives in a bottom-quarter town; Salem and Perry Township are typical. Inland flooding and tornadoes account for 89% of the expected damage.
Four federal major-disaster declarations since 2015, 6th fewest.
Behind the figure: inland flooding 80%, tornado 9%, hail 4% of FEMA’s expected losses.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (Dec. 2025): expected annual building loss over building value, all census tracts; FEMA disaster declarations.
Measure: FEMA National Risk Index: expected yearly building loss from 18 natural hazards, as a share of building value. 304 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,239 nationally.
Commute
21st of 51B60/100 Commutes a bit quicker than most. Its towns mostly sit mid-table; Oxford ranks highest, at #133. Getting to work takes 23.4 minutes on average (16th shortest).
Source: Census ACS 2020–24 5-year.
Measure: average one-way commute of the town’s workers. 304 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,235 nationally.
Growth
36th of 51C30/100 Growing a little slower than the country. Few places anywhere beat Washington Township, first of 5,079 towns for growth. Census counts show the population up 2.3% from 2010 to 2020 (6th slowest). Cleveland and Toledo weigh on the town measure; 42% of residents live in bottom-quarter places.
Builders took out permits for 3.3 homes per 1,000 residents in 2025, 15th fewest.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 and 2020 decennial counts; Census building permits.
Measure: population change between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. 302 Ohio towns of 10,000+ against 5,079 nationally.
How Ohio compares to its neighbors
Against Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan, Ohio lands in the middle on every subject.
| Ohio | Pennsylvania | West Virginia | Kentucky | Indiana | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | A 868th of 51 | A 887th of 51 | C 2837th of 51 | A− 8210th of 51 | A+ 982nd of 51 |
| Safety | B+ 6823rd official · 19% in top towns | A 8816th official · 29% in top towns | C 3222nd official · 0% in top towns | A− 809th official · 10% in top towns | B+ 6625th official · 20% in top towns |
| Schools | A− 8210th official · 31% in top towns | A 8812th official · 38% in top towns | B− 4849th official · 4% in top towns | A− 7829th official · 16% in top towns | A 927th official · 38% in top towns |
| Cost of living | B 6429th official · 48% in top towns | B 5833rd official · 43% in top towns | A+ 1002nd official · 96% in top towns | A 908th official · 33% in top towns | A 9410th official · 69% in top towns |
| Health | C+ 3632nd official · 12% in top towns | B 6227th official · 23% in top towns | D− 051st official · 0% in top towns | D 1244th official · 3% in top towns | C 2639th official · 10% in top towns |
| Housing | B 5628th official · 19% in top towns | A 9017th official · 26% in top towns | A− 801st official · 8% in top towns | C 3420th official · 4% in top towns | A 8612th official · 13% in top towns |
| Natural hazards | A 887th official · 50% in top towns | A− 7811th official · 39% in top towns | D 1047th official · 5% in top towns | C+ 4039th official · 7% in top towns | B+ 7213th official · 21% in top towns |
| Commute | B 6016th official · 29% in top towns | C 3036th official · 15% in top towns | B− 5238th official · 75% in top towns | B+ 6820th official · 40% in top towns | B 5621st official · 35% in top towns |
| Growth | C 3046th official · 23% in top towns | D 844th official · 9% in top towns | D− 451st official · 3% in top towns | C 3234th official · 15% in top towns | B− 4830th official · 21% in top towns |
Each cell: the subject’s grade and score, the state’s rank on the official figure (1st = the better end), and the share of residents of 10,000+ towns living in a nationally top-quarter town. Neighbor names open their report cards.
How this report card works
Two measures, side by side. The left card is the figure a state agency or federal survey publishes for the whole state, ranked against the other 49 states and D.C. The right card is built from our town grades: of everyone living in the state’s towns and cities of 10,000+, the share whose town falls in the national top quarter of 10,000+ towns. A state can do well on one and not the other; that difference is often the story.
Scores and grades. Each subject’s score (0–100) is the state’s standing among the 50 states and D.C.: the two measures’ percentiles averaged, then ranked again, the same method as our town grades. 100 is the best state, 0 the last. Letters use the town-grade scale (A+ from 95, A from 85, A− from 75 … D below 15). The overall score weighs safety 18, cost of living 18, schools 16, health 14, commute 10, housing 8, natural hazards 8, growth 8 (out of 100). D.C., a single city, is left out of the town measure and graded on official figures alone.
What it is not. A state figure averages everyone, so it cannot show whether a state is evenly good or a mix of very good and struggling places. The town measure shows the mix but leaves out towns under 10,000 and towns missing data. Neither says anything about any one neighborhood.
Schools use the Nation’s Report Card because each state’s own tests are set to different bars. Hazards use FEMA’s expected building damage, the same loss rate behind our town hazard grades. Sources are named under each figure. How grades work