Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wapakoneta gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $239K, 3 years of the Wapakoneta area’s $79K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 306th of 987 in Ohio. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. Only 134 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on history. Wapakoneta's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Brands Lake Fishing Club, at 67 acres.
Where Wapakoneta beats most towns.
Auglaize County Courthouse
Its founding year, 1782, comes before those of 99% of the Ohio towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 504 in 1850, 9,957 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 4 maps from 1906 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Wapakoneta is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wapakoneta, 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 Wapakoneta.
Wapakoneta trades workers with Lima and other neighbors and has property taxes about half the Ohio norm, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
Wapakoneta tracks Ohio closely on all 32 CDC measures. 41% of adults have obesity in Wapakoneta, above both the Ohio town median (38%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 39% of Wapakoneta adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Wapakoneta | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Wapakoneta | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans Memorial Park | 0.8 mi | 37 |
| 2. Brands Lake Fishing Club | — | 67 |
| 3. Auglaize County Fairgrounds | — | 60 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wapakoneta has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes rose from 74 to 116 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Wapakoneta has about as many jobs (4,324) as working residents, but only 919 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Wapakoneta’s working residents works in town. Wapakoneta’s average trip to work is 19 minutes, where Ohio’s towns sit at 24 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. The top destinations are Lima (8%), St.
| Wapakoneta | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.3% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 23 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wapakoneta.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $1,378, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026. Wapakoneta’s median rent is $811 a month.
| Wapakoneta | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $811 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wapakoneta. Close and well known come first.
28 mi MountainCampbell Hill
16 mi State parkGrand Lake St. Marys State Park
in town MuseumArmstrong Air and Space Museum
33 mi MuseumFort Recovery
18 mi MuseumShrine of the Holy Relics
32 mi MuseumZane Shawnee CavernsCampbell Hill: Analogue Kid (talk)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Grand Lake St. Marys State Park: Bruin, CC BY 2.0 · Armstrong Air and Space Museum: Tysto, Public domain · Fort Recovery: Nyttend, Public domain · Shrine of the Holy Relics: Rfgagel, Public domain · Zane Shawnee Caverns: Darkbluejacket, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Wapakoneta
About 2 of every 100 Wapakoneta residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
7 places in Wapakoneta on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Wapakoneta.
City in Ohio, US
Wapakoneta (, locally , commonly shortened to “Wapak”) is a city in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Auglaize River, the city is about 56 miles (90 km) north of Dayton and 83 miles (134 km) south of Toledo. The population was 9,957 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Wapakoneta micropolitan area, which is included in the Lima–Van Wert–Celina combined statistical area. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, grew up in Wapakoneta, which is now the home of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Wapakoneta.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wapakoneta | #306 | B+ | A+ | B | B+ | C |
| Duchouquet Township | #278 | B+ | A | — | B+ | C |
| Pusheta Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | C |
Pusheta Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Duchouquet Township and Pusheta Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wapakoneta with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Wapakoneta grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #306 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C for health, B 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 Dudley Nichols and Charles J. Thompson.
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