Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sheffield Lake is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, 487th among Ohio's 987 graded towns, 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 schools: its public schools beat 64% of Ohio towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 63% of the country. A typical home there costs about $208K, 2.9 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Association Barracks is on the National Register of Historic Places. 15% of residents live below the poverty line in Sheffield Lake, against 9.1% in Ohio’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Sheffield Lake beats most towns.
Where Sheffield Lake’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 Sheffield Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,256 in 1930, 8,957 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 5 maps from 1901 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sheffield Lake, 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 Sheffield Lake.
Sheffield Lake sends most of its workers to Cleveland and beyond and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 90% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sheffield Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knollwood Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–2 | Grades 1–2 | 202 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Sheffield Lake has 486 jobs for its 4,315 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Sheffield Lake for work: only 2% work in town. Sheffield Lake’s average trip to work is 27 minutes. The top destinations are Cleveland (16%), Avon (7%) and Westlake (7%).
| Sheffield Lake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 6.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 89 to 52 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Sheffield Lake is 4.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Sheffield Lake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Sheffield Lake has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 22° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Sheffield Lake. Sheffield Lake beats the Ohio average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 39% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Sheffield Lake.
| Sheffield Lake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Sheffield Lake | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.8% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Typical home values rose 5.2% in the year to September 2026. 68% of Sheffield Lake households own their home.
| Sheffield Lake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 68% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,054 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.3 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Sheffield Lake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Guenther Park | — | 6 |
| 2. Gary Green Park | 0.1 mi | 4 |
| 3. Ferndale Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sheffield Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw30 mi Theme parkCedar Point3.8M visitors a year
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
21 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
24 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
21 mi Stadium & arenaRocket ArenaRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cedar Point: Larry Pieniazek, User:Lar, en:User:Lar (primary), CC BY 2.5 · 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
2 within 15 miles of the center of Sheffield Lake
About 7 of every 100 Sheffield Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
City in Ohio, United States
Sheffield Lake is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8,957 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Sheffield Lake.
Avon Lake next door grades higher for schools (A to Sheffield Lake’s B) and lower for cost of living (D to B).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Lake | #487 | B | B | B+ | B | C+ |
| Sheffield | #457 | B | C− | — | B | B+ |
| Lorain | #976 | D | B+ | C− | C− | D− |
| Avon Lake | #57 | A+ | D | A | A | A |
Sheffield reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Sheffield Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Sheffield Lake grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #487 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C+ 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.
.JPG){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}