Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Stow grades B+ overall, 290th among Ohio's 987 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $94K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 81% of the country. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 73% of Ohio towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $289K, 4 years of the Akron metro’s $72K median household income. Stow’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile, against 0.2 in Ohio’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Stewart-Hanson Farm is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Stow beats most towns.
Where Stow’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 Stow is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 12,194 in 1960, 34,483 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2012 and 5 maps from 1906 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Stow. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw25 mi MuseumPro Football Hall of Fame192K visitors a year
4 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
27 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
26 mi Stadium & arenaRocket ArenaRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pro Football Hall of Fame: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Stow, 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 Stow.
16 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. Silver Springs Park, at 124 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Adell Durbin Park | 1.8 mi | 39 |
| 2. Silver Springs Park | 1.4 mi | 124 |
| 3. Meadowbrook Lake Park | 0.1 mi | 45 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview Elementary SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 745 | B |
| Stow-Munroe Falls High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 1,648 | B− |
| Woodland Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 270 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 42 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Stow.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Ohio is tooth loss: 9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.3% statewide.
11% of Stow adults smoke cigarettes, below both the Ohio town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 12% of Stow adults report frequent physical distress. Stow beats the Ohio average on 19 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Stow | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 20% | 19% |
| What stands out | Stow | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.5% | 14.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Stow for work: only 9% work in town. 17% of workers work from home in Stow. Jobs based in Stow grew to 11,827 in 2023, 855 more than in 2013.
| Stow | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.1% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Stow has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Stow’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Stow home is worth about $289,000, up 2.7% in a year, 18% above the Ohio typical home.
| Stow | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,212 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 77% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The property crime rate in Stow is 14.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Stow | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.9 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
4 within 15 miles of the center of Stow
About 5 of every 100 Stow residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
5 notable people were born in Stow.
City in Ohio, United States
Stow is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,483 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community within the Akron metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Stow.
Hudson next door grades higher for schools (A+ to Stow’s B+) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stow | #290 | B+ | C | B− | B+ | A− |
| Cuyahoga Falls | #581 | B− | B− | C+ | B− | B |
| Silver Lake | #376 | B+ | C | — | B− | A |
| Tallmadge | #243 | A− | B− | B | B+ | B+ |
| Kent | #475 | B | B− | B− | B− | B |
| Munroe Falls | #107 | A | C− | A+ | B+ | A− |
| Franklin Township | #564 | B− | C | — | B− | B |
| Hudson | #42 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A |
Silver Lake and Franklin Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Stow with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Stow grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #290 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A− 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 C.
5 notable people were born here, including Larry Csonka and David Walker.
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