These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Ohio For 2018

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 places 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 helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of Ohio, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 80 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Buckeye State for 2018:

1. Union County (Photos)
2. Medina County (Photos)
3. Auglaize County (Photos)
4. Geauga County (Photos)
5. Warren County (Photos)
6. Delaware County (Photos)
7. Lake County (Photos)
8. Wood County (Photos)
9. Henry County (Photos)
10. Fulton County (Photos)

Union County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Ohio. And you might want to avoid Gallia County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move Ohio, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Ohio and the best places to raise a family in Ohio.

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 need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time 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 80, 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, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Buckeye State.

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

1. Union County

Biggest Place: Dublin
Population: 53,955
Median Income: $71,282 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $174,300 (25th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (3rd best)
More on Union County: Photos | Data

2. Medina County

Biggest Place: Brunswick
Population: 175,543
Median Income: $69,319 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $182,100 (24th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (6th best)
More on Medina County: Photos | Data

3. Auglaize County

Biggest Place: Wapakoneta
Population: 45,871
Median Income: $55,914 (16th best)
Median Home Price: $138,700 (40th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (4th best)
More on Auglaize County: Photos | Data

4. Geauga County

Biggest Place: Chardon
Population: 94,020
Median Income: $74,165 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $221,500 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (4th best)
More on Geauga County: Photos | Data

5. Warren County

Biggest Place: Middletown
Population: 222,184
Median Income: $76,200 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $196,200 (23rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (10th best)
More on Warren County: Photos | Data

6. Delaware County

Biggest Place: Columbus
Population: 188,996
Median Income: $94,234 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $267,600 (21st best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7% (1st best)
More on Delaware County: Photos | Data

7. Lake County

Biggest Place: Mentor
Population: 229,266
Median Income: $59,958 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $149,300 (36th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (13th best)
More on Lake County: Photos | Data

8. Wood County

Biggest Place: Bowling Green
Population: 129,418
Median Income: $55,985 (15th best)
Median Home Price: $149,100 (37th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.3% (29th best)
More on Wood County: Photos | Data

9. Henry County

Biggest Place: Napoleon
Population: 27,890
Median Income: $54,941 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $113,600 (62nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.3% (13th best)
More on Henry County: Photos | Data

10. Fulton County

Biggest Place: Wauseon
Population: 42,466
Median Income: $55,860 (17th best)
Median Home Price: $131,100 (47th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (27th best)
More on Fulton County: Photos | Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Ohio To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Ohio can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

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

1. Gallia County
2. Ross County
3. Lucas County

For more Ohio reading, check out:

• 10 Best Cities For Singles In Ohio
• These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Ohio
• 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Ohio
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Ohio

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Ohio

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Union County	1	53,955	$71,282	$174,300
Medina County	2	175,543	$69,319	$182,100
Auglaize County	3	45,871	$55,914	$138,700
Geauga County	4	94,020	$74,165	$221,500
Warren County	5	222,184	$76,200	$196,200
Delaware County	6	188,996	$94,234	$267,600
Lake County	7	229,266	$59,958	$149,300
Wood County	8	129,418	$55,985	$149,100
Henry County	9	27,890	$54,941	$113,600
Fulton County	10	42,466	$55,860	$131,100
Ottawa County	11	40,981	$54,580	$144,200
Greene County	12	164,325	$61,116	$161,600
Seneca County	13	55,711	$48,415	$97,000
Clermont County	14	201,092	$61,265	$159,100
Van Wert County	15	28,501	$50,547	$98,900
Fairfield County	16	150,163	$61,473	$164,400
Shelby County	17	48,949	$56,169	$134,400
Wyandot County	18	22,359	$50,723	$111,500
Madison County	19	43,537	$58,326	$150,900
Portage County	20	161,796	$52,427	$150,400
Preble County	21	41,561	$51,356	$116,600
Champaign County	22	39,175	$53,673	$124,400
Belmont County	23	69,228	$44,719	$94,300
Miami County	24	103,864	$53,432	$137,600
Washington County	25	61,154	$44,763	$114,000
Licking County	26	169,762	$57,571	$153,900
Holmes County	27	43,702	$53,619	$170,500
Williams County	28	37,270	$45,044	$95,200
Pickaway County	29	56,804	$58,706	$150,100
Tuscarawas County	30	92,579	$46,992	$114,400
Defiance County	31	38,488	$50,822	$109,400
Erie County	32	75,808	$48,276	$130,900
Butler County	33	373,638	$59,652	$159,800
Logan County	34	45,388	$51,136	$124,400
Lorain County	35	304,091	$53,459	$138,600
Coshocton County	36	36,665	$43,380	$97,100
Darke County	37	52,185	$47,043	$112,100
Sandusky County	38	59,870	$49,032	$111,300
Knox County	39	60,878	$48,619	$135,600
Huron County	40	58,704	$48,838	$117,000
Harrison County	41	15,521	$44,000	$85,300
Summit County	42	541,372	$51,562	$134,300
Wayne County	43	115,747	$51,363	$136,400
Clinton County	44	41,854	$48,675	$121,700
Stark County	45	374,762	$48,714	$124,000
Hamilton County	46	805,965	$50,399	$143,700
Ashland County	47	53,343	$48,509	$120,700
Franklin County	48	1,232,118	$54,037	$153,100
Crawford County	49	42,485	$40,563	$85,200
Mahoning County	50	233,015	$41,872	$98,300
Brown County	51	44,059	$47,999	$116,500
Columbiana County	52	105,230	$45,389	$104,100
Trumbull County	53	204,908	$43,811	$99,400
Marion County	54	65,620	$43,557	$93,400
Jefferson County	55	67,607	$42,327	$87,100
Hardin County	56	31,652	$44,842	$93,500
Carroll County	57	28,108	$48,545	$113,300
Vinton County	58	13,128	$41,080	$84,100
Morgan County	59	14,857	$38,941	$91,400
Pike County	60	28,298	$41,128	$97,800
Guernsey County	61	39,478	$41,566	$98,600
Lawrence County	62	61,503	$44,256	$101,600
Meigs County	63	23,345	$39,640	$86,300
Athens County	64	65,103	$34,221	$113,900
Adams County	65	28,111	$34,709	$94,300
Hocking County	66	28,690	$43,382	$114,400
Perry County	67	35,947	$43,674	$96,100
Richland County	68	121,888	$42,849	$102,600
Allen County	69	104,664	$45,575	$107,500
Jackson County	70	32,717	$40,330	$90,800
Cuyahoga County	71	1,258,710	$45,289	$122,200
Fayette County	72	28,719	$41,954	$107,100
Muskingum County	73	85,991	$42,464	$110,500
Montgomery County	74	532,761	$45,394	$109,600
Ashtabula County	75	99,175	$41,158	$104,700
Highland County	76	43,109	$40,593	$102,300
Clark County	77	136,175	$44,154	$103,200
Lucas County	78	434,800	$42,917	$105,500
Ross County	79	77,193	$44,587	$111,700
Gallia County	80	30,376	$39,423	$101,200