Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,430, settled in 1853. 2.2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Ohio town.
Wauseon gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $231K, 3.5 years of the Toledo metro’s $65K median household income. It grades A− overall, 182nd among Ohio's 987 graded towns. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 79% of Ohio towns. 29% of working residents work locally in Wauseon, above both Ohio’s towns (6.8%) and U.S. towns (8%). On civic life, just 53 of Ohio’s 1,560 towns do better. Wauseon has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Fulton County Courthouse and George S. Clement House.
Where Wauseon beats most towns.
4.2% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Wauseon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 378 in 1860, 7,568 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 4 maps from 1911 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wauseon, 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 Wauseon.
Wauseon pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Ohio norm and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
8.4 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. Wauseon’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Biddle Park, at 74 acres.
| Wauseon | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Indian Hills Trails | 1.3 mi | 31 |
| 2. Homecoming Park | 1.1 mi | 34 |
| 3. Biddle Park | — | 74 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Wauseon since 2006.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Wauseon has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Wauseon’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Wauseon is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Archbold (9%), Napoleon (6%) and Toledo (6%).
| Wauseon | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 28% of residents (22% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). 16% of residents are 65 or older in Wauseon. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Ohio.
| Wauseon | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 28% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 20% | 18% |
| Median age | 38.3 years | 41.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 24% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Ohio, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Wauseon | OH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 11.7% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.8% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.3% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.4% | 10.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.6% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 38.7% | 32.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.2% | 19.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.3% | 12.2% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Wauseon's reported crime rate is below Ohio's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 14 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Wauseon | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.1 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Wauseon grades A− overall with a typical home of about $231K, below the Ohio typical value; only 20 of the 135 Ohio towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Wauseon home is worth about $231,000, up 2% in a year, 6% below the Ohio typical home.
| Wauseon | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $821 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 77% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 9,827 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wauseon’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Wauseon beats the Ohio average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.9% of Wauseon adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Wauseon | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 7.7% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 34% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 26% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Wauseon | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.2% | 15.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 9.9% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Wauseon
About 3 of every 100 Wauseon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
4 places in Wauseon on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Wauseon.
City in Ohio, USA
Wauseon ( WAW-see-on) is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County, Ohio, about 31 mi (51 km) west of Toledo. The population was 7,568 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Wauseon grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #182 of 987 in Ohio. It grades B− for health and A− 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−.
9 notable people were born here, including Barney Oldfield and James Massey.
