Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 35,893 people was settled in 1917.
Upper Arlington does especially well on health (A+). Overall, Upper Arlington earns an A+: better than 98% of U.S. towns, and 24th of 987 in Ohio. Incomes are another plus: the median household earns $155K. What counts against it is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $636K, 7.8 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income. The town has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Frederick G. Kilgour House and Upper Arlington Historic District. 80% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both the Ohio town median (24%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Only 125 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on walkability.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Upper Arlington beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Upper Arlington | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 15.3% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Barrington Road Elementary School | K–5 | 800 |
| Tremont Elementary School | K–5 | 694 |
| Windermere Elementary School | K–5 | 555 |
Where Upper Arlington’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 Upper Arlington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 620 in 1920, 36,800 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1855 and 5 maps from 1955 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Upper Arlington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaOhio Stadium
4 mi Stadium & arenaHistoric Crew Stadium
5 mi Stadium & arenaScottsMiracle-Gro Field
3 mi Stadium & arenaValue City Arena
9 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
8 mi MuseumOhio Governor's MansionOhio Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Historic Crew Stadium: Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · ScottsMiracle-Gro Field: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Value City Arena: Nick81aku at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Ohio Governor's Mansion: Bwsmith84 (talk), CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Upper Arlington, 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 Upper Arlington.
Upper Arlington is among the three healthiest towns in Ohio and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Ohio.
At 7.8 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $636K) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 4.5% in value. The rent at the middle of the market in Upper Arlington is $1,588 a month. Homes sold in Upper Arlington spent a median 32 days on the market.
| Upper Arlington | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,588 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $636K.
Three of its 13 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Upper Arlington City school district. The 5 public schools in Upper Arlington teach 3,011 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington Road Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 800 | A+ |
| Upper Arlington High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,908 | A |
| Windermere Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 555 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
It ranks #3 of the 993 Ohio towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with Ohio is tooth loss: 5.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.3% statewide.
Among 993 Ohio towns, just 2 have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Upper Arlington. Upper Arlington: 7.2% of adults smoke cigarettes.
| Upper Arlington | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.2% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Upper Arlington | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5% | 14.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Across 25 parks and preserves: 4.7 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Thompson Park, at 50 acres. Upper Arlington’s trail network density stands at 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Upper Arlington | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northam Road Park | 0.6 mi | 16 |
| 2. Thompson Park | 0.5 mi | 50 |
| 3. Fancyburg Park | 0.4 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 333 to 261 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 7 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
Upper Arlington’s violent offense rate comes in at 0.2 per 1,000 residents. In Upper Arlington, the property offense rate is 7.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Upper Arlington | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.1 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
27.3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 6 miles. Among residents in Upper Arlington, 3.3% live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Upper Arlington has added 1,434 jobs, to 11,742 in 2023. The town’s mean commuting time is 19 minutes.
| Upper Arlington | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $155,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1979, 37 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Upper Arlington. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in nearly three quarters of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to Upper Arlington households in 7 declared disasters; the latest was in 2012.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A winter brings about 28 inches of snow, with January nights at 21° and July afternoons at 85°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
13 within 15 miles of the center of Upper Arlington
About 3 of every 100 Upper Arlington residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
2 places in Upper Arlington on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Ohio, United States
Upper Arlington (often known by its initials U.A.) is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,800. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Upper Arlington.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Arlington | #24 | A+ | C− | A− | A | A+ |
| Norwich Township | #265 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Perry Township | #64 | A | C | A+ | B+ | A |
| Marble Cliff | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Norwich Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Marble Cliff isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Upper Arlington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Upper Arlington grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #24 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
