Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Yellow Springs grades B+ overall, 389th among Ohio's 987 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country and it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 64% of Ohio towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $382K, 5.3 years of the Dayton metro’s $72K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Yellow Springs, against 20% in Ohio’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. No town in Ohio scores higher than Yellow Springs on civic life. Yellow Springs is home to Antioch College.
Where Yellow Springs beats most towns.
Antioch Hall, North And South Halls4.6% of the town is conserved land, across 3 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Yellow Springs is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 138 in 1850, 3,697 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1852 and 5 maps from 1904 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Yellow Springs. Close and well known come first.
12 mi MuseumNational Museum of the United States Air Force1.0M visitors a year
Big draw38 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year12 mi MuseumNational Aviation Hall of Fame300K visitors a year
10 mi LandmarkMadonna of the Trail
9 mi MuseumHuffman Prairie
9 mi National Historical ParkDayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park80K visitors a yearNational Museum of the United States Air Force: No machine-readable author provided. Rogerd assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madonna of the Trail: W. Guy Finley, Public domain · Huffman Prairie: Wright Brothers, Public domain · Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Yellow Springs, 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 Yellow Springs.
Yellow Springs has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Ohio and has less tooth loss than most of Ohio, but it has property taxes 1.7 times the Ohio norm.
At 4 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 700 Ohio towns.
Yellow Springs’ trail density is 4.0 miles per square mile. Glen Helen Nature Preserve, at 494 acres with 9.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 11 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Yellow Springs | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 4.0 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glen Helen Nature Preserve | 9.8 mi | 494 |
| 2. Gaunt Park | — | 15 |
| 3. Bill Duncan Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $4,790, against $2,822 across Ohio, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
65% of households own their home in Yellow Springs. The typical Yellow Springs home is worth about $382,000, up 2.7% in a year, 55% above the Ohio typical home. The median rent in Yellow Springs is $879 a month.
| Yellow Springs | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 65% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $879 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Ohio is tooth loss: 7.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.3% statewide.
14% of Yellow Springs adults binge drink. Yellow Springs beats the Ohio average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 9.3% of Yellow Springs adults smoke cigarettes.
| Yellow Springs | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 16% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Yellow Springs | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.2% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 14.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 74% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Yellow Springs has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 21° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 1,451 in 2013 to 1,972.
About one in 5 of Yellow Springs’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Yellow Springs has added 521 jobs, to 1,972 in 2023. The top destinations are Dayton (10%), Fairborn (6%) and Springfield (6%).
| Yellow Springs | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 6.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
11 within 15 miles of the center of Yellow Springs
About 7 of every 100 Yellow Springs residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
2 colleges in town.
5 places in Yellow Springs on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Yellow Springs.
Village in Ohio, United States
Yellow Springs is a village in northern Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton metropolitan area and is home to Antioch College.
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. Yellow Springs grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #389 of 987 in Ohio. It grades A− for health, B− 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 C.
8 notable people were born here, including Virginia Hamilton and Cindy Blackman.
