Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Urbana gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $207K, 2.7 years of the Urbana area’s $76K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 739th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 9 places on the National Register. 32% of working residents work locally in Urbana, against 6.8% in Ohio’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On history, just 61 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do better. Urbana's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Urbana beats most towns.
John Q. A. Ward House
Census counts: 644 in 1820, 11,115 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1899 and 2 maps from 1961 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Urbana is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Urbana, 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 Urbana.
39% of adults have high blood pressure in Urbana. In Urbana, 42% of adults sleep under 7 hours, and 35% feel lonely.
| Urbana | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 34% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Urbana | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.3% | 8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8% | 7.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
63% of Urbana’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 12%. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2008.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Summer afternoons peak near 84° in July, and January nights bottom out around 20°; snowfall runs to about 19 inches a winter. Expect chilly winters and warm summers in Urbana.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 265 to 200 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Urbana, the property offense rate is 16.8 per 1,000 residents. The violent crime rate for Urbana comes to 1 per 1,000 residents.
| Urbana | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.8 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Half commute less than 15 miles. The share of residents in Urbana who live below the poverty line: 14%. One in 3 of the town’s working residents works locally. Its average commute is 21 minutes.
| Urbana | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.6% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes sold in Urbana spent a median 49 days on the market. A typical home locally is worth about $207,000, up 4.3% in a year, 16% below the Ohio typical home. Three fifths of Urbana households live in a home they own.
| Urbana | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $935 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The density of trails in Urbana is 0.1 miles per square mile. Trails total 0.4 miles in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Melvin Miller Park, at 108 acres.
| Urbana | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Melvin Miller Park | 0.2 mi | 108 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Urbana. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaOhio Stadium
30 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a year
18 mi MountainCampbell Hill
34 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
13 mi LandmarkMadonna of the Trail
39 mi Stadium & arenaValue City ArenaOhio Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · National 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 · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Madonna of the Trail: W. Guy Finley, Public domain · Value City Arena: Nick81aku at English Wikipedia, Public domain
2 within 15 miles of the center of Urbana
About 4 of every 100 Urbana residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
9 places in Urbana on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Urbana.
City in Ohio, United States
Urbana is a city in Champaign County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located about 34 miles (55 km) northeast of Dayton and 41 miles (66 km) west of Columbus. The population was 11,115 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Urbana micropolitan area. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army during the War of 1812. It is the burial place of the explorer and soldier Simon Kenton. The city was home to Urbana University and Curry Normal and Industrial Institute, a school for African American students.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Urbana.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbana | #739 | C+ | A− | C+ | C+ | C− |
| Urbana Township | #607 | B− | A− | — | C+ | C |
| Mad River Township | #583 | B− | A− | — | B− | C |
Urbana Township and Mad River Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Urbana with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Urbana grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #739 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
25 notable people were born here, including Clancy Brown and Robert L. Eichelberger.
