Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Vermilion's standout: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 95% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades A−, 198th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. It has 7 miles of trail. Its National Register listings include Masonic Temple Building and First Baptist Church. Vermilion’s median age is 50.6 years, above both the Ohio town median (41.7 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Mill Hollow Bacon Woods Park, at 168 acres with 2.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Vermilion beats most towns.
Vermilion Town Hall
Its 42 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Ohio towns with a listing.
Census counts: 801 in 1860, 10,659 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 4 maps from 1903 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Vermilion is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vermilion, 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 Vermilion.
Vermilion sees little violent crime, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
The trail density in Vermilion is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Vermilion | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mill Hollow Bacon Woods Park | 2.2 mi | 168 |
| 2. Linwood Park | 0.7 mi | 44 |
| 3. Showse Park | 0.7 mi | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Vermilion Local school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Vermilion High School, with 580 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sailorway Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–7 | Grades 4–7 | 511 | B+ |
| Vermilion High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 580 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
Vermilion’s property crime rate is 2.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Vermilion | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Vermilion for work: only 14% work in town. 6.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Vermilion. The top destinations are Lorain (7%), Cleveland (6%) and Elyria (5%).
| Vermilion | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Vermilion has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 21° and about 47 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 26% of residents (18% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 19% of Vermilion residents are under 18. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Vermilion | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 24% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Vermilion | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.5% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.9% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.6% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.1% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.8% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29.7% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.3% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.8% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.3% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
345 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 37 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 345 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vermilion.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Vermilion home is worth about $271,000, up 4.8% in a year, 10% above the Ohio typical home.
| Vermilion | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 81% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,099 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Vermilion beats the Ohio average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| Vermilion | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Vermilion | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.3% | 14.1% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.1% | 8.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vermilion. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Theme parkCedar Point3.8M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
33 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
35 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
33 mi Stadium & arenaRocket ArenaRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cedar Point: Larry Pieniazek, User:Lar, en:User:Lar (primary), CC BY 2.5 · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Vermilion
About 4 of every 100 Vermilion residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
Where Vermilion’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
42 places in Vermilion on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Vermilion.
City in Ohio, United States
Vermilion is a city in Erie and Lorain counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, on Lake Erie. Its population was 10,659 at the 2020 census. Located about 35 miles west of Cleveland and 17 miles east of Sandusky, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area and Sandusky micropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Vermilion.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermilion | #198 | A− | B− | A+ | B+ | B− |
| Brownhelm Township | #703 | C+ | C | — | B+ | B |
| Vermilion Township | #613 | B− | B− | — | B+ | B |
| Lorain | #976 | D | B+ | C− | C− | D− |
Brownhelm Township and Vermilion Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Vermilion with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Vermilion grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #198 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B− for health, A+ 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 B−.
4 notable people were born here, including Allie LaForce and Albert David Baumhart, Jr..
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