Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Upper Sandusky gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $204K, 2.9 years of the county’s $70K median household income. It grades A− overall, 274th among Ohio's 987 graded towns. On the plus side, 9% of its land is conserved. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. 35% of working residents work locally in Upper Sandusky, where Ohio’s towns sit at 6.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. Only 102 of Ohio’s 1,560 towns score higher on civic life. Harrison Smith Park, at 47 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Upper Sandusky beats most towns.
Wyandot County Courthouse and Jail
Census counts: 754 in 1850, 6,698 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 3 maps from 1907 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Upper Sandusky is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Upper Sandusky, 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 Sandusky.
Upper Sandusky pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Ohio norm, draws workers from Bucyrus and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
5,047 jobs are based in Upper Sandusky, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Upper Sandusky’s working residents works in town. Upper Sandusky’s average trip to work is 18 minutes. Since 2013, Upper Sandusky has added 257 jobs, to 5,047 in 2023.
| Upper Sandusky | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Upper Sandusky | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harrison Smith Park | 1 mi | 47 |
| 2. Stepping Stones Park | 0.9 mi | 24 |
| 3. Bicentennial Park | 0.2 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Upper Sandusky has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,218 U.S. towns with household incomes like Upper Sandusky’s, it is healthier than 84%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Upper Sandusky beats the Ohio average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 17% of Upper Sandusky adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Upper Sandusky | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 20% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Upper Sandusky | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.8% | 8.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 141 to 110 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Upper Sandusky is 15.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Upper Sandusky | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.9 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Upper Sandusky since 1981.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Upper Sandusky grades A− overall with a typical home of about $204K, below the Ohio typical value; only 20 of the 135 Ohio towns graded A− or better can say that. The median property tax bill is $1,355, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
61% of households own their home in Upper Sandusky. The typical Upper Sandusky home is worth about $204,000, up 3.9% in a year, 17% below the Ohio typical home.
| Upper Sandusky | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $804 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Ohio average. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Upper Sandusky | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.2 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 24% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 20% | 18% |
55% women, 45% men
About 82 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.7 points). Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Upper Sandusky | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 16% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.7% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.4% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.7% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 43.5% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.5% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.2% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.2% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.7% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
None within 15 miles of Upper Sandusky; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Upper Sandusky residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
Where Upper Sandusky’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Upper Sandusky on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Upper Sandusky.
City in Ohio, United States
Upper Sandusky is a city in and the county seat of Wyandot County, Ohio, United States, along the upper Sandusky River. The city lies approximately 59 miles (95 km) south of Toledo and 62 miles (100 km) north of Columbus. The population was 6,698 at the 2020 census. The city was founded in 1843 and named for an earlier Wyandot village of the same name, which was located nearby. Despite what its name may suggest, Upper Sandusky is actually about 55 miles (89 km) southwest of the city of Sandusky. It was named "Upper" because it is located near the headwaters of the Sandusky River, which flows downriver through the city of Sandusky and empties into Lake Erie.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Upper Sandusky.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Sandusky | #274 | A− | A | C+ | B | B |
| Crane Township | #170 | A− | A | — | B | B |
Crane Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Upper Sandusky with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Upper Sandusky grades A− overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #274 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and B for schools.
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.
8 notable people were born here, including Nate Reinking and Carl Karcher.
