Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Settled in 1810, this town now has 33,904 residents.
Health is its strong suit (A): CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country. Add incomes to its strengths: the median household earns $112K. The drawback is cost of living (D) — the typical home is worth about $421K, 6 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of 116th of 987 in Ohio. That leaves it better than 89% of U.S. towns. Westlake has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Clague House and Lilly House. Westlake's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 80% of U.S. towns. 60% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, against 24% in Ohio’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Westlake beats most towns.
Where Westlake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Westlake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,754 in 1920, 34,228 in 2020. The archive holds 9 old photos and papers going back to 2010 and 6 maps from 1902 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Westlake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
Big draw39 mi Theme parkCedar Point3.8M visitors a year
13 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
15 mi National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
13 mi Stadium & arenaRocket ArenaRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Cedar Point: Larry Pieniazek, User:Lar, en:User:Lar (primary), CC BY 2.5 · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Westlake, 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 Westlake.
Westlake draws workers from Cleveland and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of Ohio, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Ohio.
At 6 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $421K) costs more against local pay than in 94% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The median property tax bill is $5,742, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow values the typical Westlake home at about $421,000, up 3.3% in a year, 71% above the Ohio typical home. The town’s midpoint rent is $1,570 a month. On the market locally: a median 17 days to sell.
| Westlake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,570 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 A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $421K.
Three of its 9 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The Westlake City school district runs its public schools. The 2 public schools in Westlake teach 1,264 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 1,215 | A |
| Westlake High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 989 | A− |
| Lee Burneson Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 501 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Ohio is tooth loss: 7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.3% statewide.
Westlake: 4.9% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance. CDC measures, 32 in all: Westlake beats Ohio on 22 and trails on 2. Among adults locally, 28% have obesity and 17% get no exercise outside work.
| Westlake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 28% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Westlake | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 14.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
26,953 jobs are based in Westlake, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 21.4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Ohio.
Half of commuters travel less than 12 miles. Since 2013, Westlake has added 3,796 jobs, to 26,953 in 2023. Most people who work leave Westlake to do it: just 15% work in town. Just over a fifth of workers work from home here.
| Westlake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 9.7% | 11% |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The biggest place to walk is Bradley Woods Reservation, 422 acres with 2.9 miles of trail. Across 8 parks and preserves: 5.4 miles of trail. Westlake’s trail network density comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Westlake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bradley Woods Reservation | 2.9 mi | 422 |
| 2. HSI walking trail | 0.6 mi | 12 |
| 3. Westlake Park | 0.4 mi | 67 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Flood insurance has paid out on 16 claims in Westlake since 1989. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 86% of U.S. communities. Two thirds of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 15%. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2012.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Westlake, the peak summer temperature is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Westlake’s violent crime rate stands at 0.3 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 10 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Westlake | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 6.5 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of Westlake
About 6 of every 100 Westlake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
2 places in Westlake on the National Register of Historic Places.
13 notable people were born in Westlake.
City in the United States
Westlake is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb located 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Cleveland. The population was 34,228 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Westlake.
North Olmsted next door grades lower for schools (B to Westlake’s A) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake | #116 | A | D | — | A | A |
| North Olmsted | #195 | A− | C | B+ | B | A− |
| Avon | #130 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Rocky River | #17 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Bay Village | #2 | A+ | C+ | A | A+ | A+ |
| Fairview Park | #238 | A− | C | — | B+ | A |
Westlake and Fairview Park report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Westlake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Westlake grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #116 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
13 notable people were born here, including Logan Paul and Travis Kelce.
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