10 Best Counties To Live In Ohio [2025]

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Ohio a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Ohio.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Buckeye State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Ohio, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 88 counties in the state.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary

The 10 Best Counties To Live In Ohio For 2025

Delaware County
Warren County
Union County
Medina County
Putnam County
Mercer County
Auglaize County
Ottawa County
Fairfield County
Greene County

Delaware County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Ohio. And you should avoid Meigs County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Ohio. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Ohio and the cheapest places to live in Ohio.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The Best Counties To Live In Ohio For 2025

1. Delaware County

Source: Wikipedia User Yassie (talk) | GFDL

Biggest Place: Columbus
Population: 221,160
Median Income: $130,088 (best)
Median Home Price: $419,500 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (12th best)
More on Delaware County:

2. Warren County

Source: Wikipedia User Aesopposea | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Middletown
Population: 246,364
Median Income: $107,843 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $319,700 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (17th best)
More on Warren County:

3. Union County

Source: Wikipedia User Wiki Historian N OH of English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Dublin
Population: 65,293
Median Income: $109,506 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $306,600 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.4% (4th best)
More on Union County:

4. Medina County

Source: Wikipedia User Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Brunswick
Population: 183,049
Median Income: $92,660 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $268,000 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (15th best)
More on Medina County:

5. Putnam County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Ottawa
Population: 34,352
Median Income: $82,785 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $191,600 (29th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.1% (3rd best)
More on Putnam County:

6. Mercer County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Celina
Population: 42,438
Median Income: $78,036 (14th best)
Median Home Price: $208,600 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.8% (best)
More on Mercer County:

7. Auglaize County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Wapakoneta
Population: 46,209
Median Income: $76,454 (16th best)
Median Home Price: $182,000 (35th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.5% (6th best)
More on Auglaize County:

8. Ottawa County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Port Clinton
Population: 40,161
Median Income: $75,728 (17th best)
Median Home Price: $200,700 (24th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.9% (9th best)
More on Ottawa County:

9. Fairfield County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Columbus
Population: 161,289
Median Income: $87,069 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $272,200 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (25th best)
More on Fairfield County:

10. Greene County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Kettering
Population: 168,531
Median Income: $85,218 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $238,000 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (40th best)
More on Greene County:

Best Places To Retire In Ohio

Methodology: How do you determine which Ohio county is the best?

To give you the best county in Ohio, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

Violent Crime Rates
Property Crime Rates
Median Home Values
Median Income
Unemployment Rates
Adult Education Levels
Health Insurance Coverage
Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Ohio across each of the criteria from one to 88, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Ohio.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Buckeye State.

We updated this article for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Ohio.

Read on to see why Delaware County is the best county, while Meigs County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Ohio.

Summary: The Best Counties In Ohio To Call Home For 2025

Living in Ohio can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Ohio are Delaware County, Warren County, Union County, Medina County, Putnam County, Mercer County, Auglaize County, Ottawa County, Fairfield County, and Greene County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Ohio according to the data:

Meigs County
Coshocton County
Ashtabula County

For more Ohio reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Ohio

Rank	County	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
1	Delaware County	221,160	$130,088	$419,500
2	Warren County	246,364	$107,843	$319,700
3	Union County	65,293	$109,506	$306,600
4	Medina County	183,049	$92,660	$268,000
5	Putnam County	34,352	$82,785	$191,600
6	Mercer County	42,438	$78,036	$208,600
7	Auglaize County	46,209	$76,454	$182,000
8	Ottawa County	40,161	$75,728	$200,700
9	Fairfield County	161,289	$87,069	$272,200
10	Greene County	168,531	$85,218	$238,000
11	Wyandot County	21,699	$71,878	$159,500
12	Licking County	180,311	$81,033	$250,700
13	Lake County	232,101	$77,952	$199,900
14	Hancock County	74,885	$69,699	$196,500
15	Miami County	109,549	$74,175	$209,200
16	Geauga County	95,479	$100,783	$305,100
17	Wood County	131,795	$73,124	$214,400
18	Henry County	27,581	$79,267	$166,000
19	Fulton County	42,434	$72,866	$176,000
20	Clermont County	209,862	$83,178	$245,600
21	Preble County	40,802	$71,237	$171,100
22	Van Wert County	28,824	$65,344	$137,300
23	Champaign County	38,772	$74,239	$186,300
24	Shelby County	48,007	$72,822	$190,300
25	Portage County	161,421	$72,822	$210,500
26	Knox County	62,888	$73,988	$218,300
27	Morrow County	35,214	$71,047	$200,800
28	Logan County	46,140	$69,183	$186,200
29	Stark County	373,764	$65,740	$177,700
30	Butler County	389,910	$81,194	$243,000
31	Holmes County	44,312	$74,774	$251,800
32	Madison County	44,126	$83,229	$231,400
33	Pickaway County	59,407	$72,927	$235,700
34	Lorain County	314,588	$70,693	$207,200
35	Seneca County	54,861	$65,020	$136,200
36	Hamilton County	827,878	$70,816	$225,700
37	Erie County	74,938	$68,431	$183,900
38	Darke County	51,655	$64,654	$169,100
39	Sandusky County	58,770	$62,500	$152,500
40	Franklin County	1,321,635	$73,795	$265,700
41	Wayne County	116,618	$71,769	$204,600
42	Paulding County	18,800	$68,167	$126,800
43	Summit County	538,087	$71,016	$195,700
44	Williams County	36,862	$61,834	$140,000
45	Clinton County	42,014	$68,125	$192,800
46	Defiance County	38,258	$73,615	$150,900
47	Ashland County	52,296	$64,991	$175,900
48	Washington County	59,318	$61,355	$174,100
49	Huron County	58,412	$65,972	$158,900
50	Carroll County	26,731	$64,675	$174,500
51	Montgomery County	535,528	$64,403	$167,400
52	Perry County	35,474	$64,737	$178,300
53	Brown County	43,710	$69,990	$181,100
54	Noble County	14,252	$55,360	$149,300
55	Lawrence County	57,385	$54,842	$135,600
56	Belmont County	65,982	$58,411	$143,000
57	Cuyahoga County	1,249,418	$62,823	$183,200
58	Jefferson County	64,855	$56,983	$120,600
59	Allen County	101,685	$62,001	$158,400
60	Muskingum County	86,382	$59,203	$170,100
61	Morgan County	13,758	$55,971	$134,200
62	Lucas County	428,748	$60,095	$155,200
63	Tuscarawas County	92,585	$64,494	$176,800
64	Athens County	61,573	$53,837	$173,800
65	Mahoning County	227,063	$55,576	$141,100
66	Hocking County	27,938	$61,366	$172,300
67	Highland County	43,403	$62,008	$157,000
68	Richland County	125,138	$57,649	$154,000
69	Ross County	76,748	$59,819	$158,500
70	Crawford County	41,767	$55,477	$123,600
71	Clark County	135,445	$60,846	$155,900
72	Marion County	65,145	$57,306	$146,200
73	Columbiana County	101,203	$58,474	$139,100
74	Fayette County	28,880	$60,047	$162,200
75	Jackson County	32,588	$58,409	$140,400
76	Gallia County	29,162	$56,455	$135,000
77	Hardin County	30,527	$58,001	$134,800
78	Harrison County	14,408	$53,851	$118,000
79	Trumbull County	201,367	$55,088	$128,100
80	Vinton County	12,686	$53,813	$131,700
81	Monroe County	13,308	$58,962	$132,000
82	Pike County	27,080	$49,552	$148,500
83	Scioto County	73,118	$49,571	$132,300
84	Guernsey County	38,283	$55,756	$154,100
85	Adams County	27,510	$49,521	$157,500
86	Ashtabula County	97,343	$55,507	$149,600
87	Coshocton County	36,679	$54,687	$142,300
88	Meigs County	22,072	$46,701	$113,400