Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Westerville grades B+ overall, 393rd of 987 graded towns in Ohio. The median household earns $109K. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $446K, 5.4 years of the Columbus metro’s $82K median household income. 58% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Westerville, above both the Ohio town median (24%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Only 93 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score higher on walkability. Its National Register listings include Temperance Row Historic District and Gideon Hart House.
Where Westerville beats most towns.
Census counts: 668 in 1860, 39,190 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1849 and a map from 1902 on.
15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Westerville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Westerville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaOhio Stadium
9 mi Stadium & arenaHistoric Crew Stadium
12 mi Stadium & arenaScottsMiracle-Gro Field
11 mi Zoo & aquariumColumbus Zoo and Aquarium
10 mi Stadium & arenaValue City Arena
10 mi MuseumOhio Governor's MansionOhio Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Historic Crew Stadium: Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · ScottsMiracle-Gro Field: Nova Crystallis, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Columbus Zoo and Aquarium: Adolphus79 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Value City Arena: Nick81aku at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Ohio Governor's Mansion: Bwsmith84 (talk), CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Westerville, 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 Westerville.
Westerville draws workers from Columbus and beyond, has less tooth loss than most of Ohio and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
The median property tax bill is $6,658, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Westerville is $1,364 a month. The typical Westerville home is worth about $446,000, up 1.5% in a year, 81% above the Ohio typical home.
| Westerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,364 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Westerville City school district. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walnut Springs Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 613 | C+ |
| Westerville-North High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,587 | C+ |
| Emerson Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 254 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
7.8 miles of trail in 26 parks and preserves. Inniswood Metro Gardens, at 138 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Westerville’s trail density is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Westerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Heritage Park | 1.2 mi | 29 |
| 2. Inniswood Metro Gardens | 1 mi | 138 |
| 3. Highlands Park | 0.4 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
32,546 jobs are based in Westerville, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 27% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio.
27% of Westerville workers work from home. Most working residents leave Westerville for work: only 11% work in town. 5.6% of Westerville residents live below the poverty line.
| Westerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its widest gap with Ohio is tooth loss: 7.3% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.3% statewide.
31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Westerville. Westerville beats the Ohio average on 25 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 9.3% of adults smoke cigarettes in Westerville.
| Westerville | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 28% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Westerville | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.3% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 14.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Westerville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 858 to 666 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Westerville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
15 within 15 miles of the center of Westerville
About 9 of every 100 Westerville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
15 places in Westerville on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Westerville.
City in Ohio, United States
Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, its population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. The city is home to Otterbein University. It was once known as the "Dry Capital of the World" for its strict laws prohibiting sales of alcohol and for being the home of the Anti-Saloon League, one of the driving forces behind the Prohibition era at the beginning of the 20th century.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Westerville.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westerville | #393 | B+ | C− | C+ | B | A |
| Blendon Township | #204 | A− | C | B+ | B | A− |
| Genoa Township | #142 | A | D | A+ | B+ | A |
| Columbus | #933 | D | C | D | C | B− |
| Orange Township | #85 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Sharon Township | #102 | A | C− | — | B+ | A |
Orange Township and Sharon Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Westerville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Westerville grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #393 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
24 notable people were born here, including Nigel Hayes-Davis and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.
