Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sidney gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $217K, 2.9 years of the Sidney area’s $74K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 849th of 987 in Ohio. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 85% of the country. On the plus side, 7% of its land is conserved. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. 35% of working residents work locally in Sidney, above both Ohio’s towns (6.8%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include People's Federal Savings and Loan Association and Sidney Waterworks And Electric Light Building.
Where Sidney beats most towns.
People's Federal Savings and Loan Association is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 240 in 1830, 20,589 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1899 and 5 maps from 1913 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Sidney is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sidney, 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 Sidney.
19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Sidney. Sidney beats the Ohio average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 41% of adults have obesity in Sidney.
| Sidney | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sidney | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.1% | 15.3% |
| More smokers | 19% | 15.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The violent crime rate in Sidney is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Sidney | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.4 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2.8 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Tawawa Park, at 197 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Custenborder Field | 0.8 mi | 51 |
| 2. Tawawa Park | 0.7 mi | 197 |
| 3. Shelby County Fair Grounds | — | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Sidney has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 9,605 working residents takes 17.2 minutes, against 23.4 across Ohio.
About one in 3 of Sidney’s working residents works in town. Sidney’s average trip to work is 17 minutes. Since 2013, Sidney has lost 1,002 jobs, to 13,672 in 2023.
| Sidney | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
62% of Sidney households own their home. Typical home values rose 6.8% in the year to September 2026.
| Sidney | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $869 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sidney.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sidney. Close and well known come first.
35 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a year
24 mi MountainCampbell Hill
24 mi State parkGrand Lake St. Marys State Park35 mi MuseumNational Aviation Hall of Fame300K visitors a year
31 mi LandmarkMadonna of the Trail
34 mi MuseumFort RecoveryNational Museum of the United States Air Force: No machine-readable author provided. Rogerd assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Campbell Hill: Analogue Kid (talk)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Grand Lake St. Marys State Park: Bruin, CC BY 2.0 · Madonna of the Trail: W. Guy Finley, Public domain · Fort Recovery: Nyttend, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sidney
About 3 of every 100 Sidney residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
6 places in Sidney on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Sidney.
City in Ohio, United States
Sidney is a city in Shelby County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,589 at the 2020 census. It is approximately 36 miles (58 km) north of Dayton and 100 miles (160 km) south of Toledo, and is a part of the Dayton metropolitan area. The city is named after English poet Philip Sidney, and many of Sidney's elementary schools are named after famous writers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and John Greenleaf Whittier. Sidney was the recipient of the 1964 All-America City Award. In 2009, it was the subject of the documentary film 45365.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Sidney.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney | #849 | C | A− | C | C+ | D |
| Clinton Township | #735 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C− |
| Orange Township | — | — | C | — | C+ | C− |
| Franklin Township | #304 | B+ | B | — | A | C |
| Perry Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Washington Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | C− |
| Salem Township | — | — | A− | — | C+ | C |
Orange Township, Washington Township and Salem Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Clinton Township, Orange Township, Franklin Township, Washington Township and Salem Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Perry Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sidney with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sidney grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #849 of 987 in Ohio. It grades D for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
11 notable people were born here, including J. Edward Russell and George A. Marshall.
