The 10 Best Places To Live In Ohio In 2023

The 10 best places to live In Ohio for 2023

Madeira is an awesome suburb of Cincinnati located about 15 miles northeast of the city. It’s the kind of city where you set down roots when your kids are in grade school and stay until they graduate from college. Niche gives the Madeira City Public School District an A+ rating, which is just part of the reason it’s one of the better places to live in Ohio.

Some of the other reasons Madeira ranks so well have to do with the economy. The city ranks 21st for unemployment and 10th for home values per the latest Census data. Add in top 10% finishes for every category we ranked in Ohio, and Madeira comes out as a well rounded city.

More on Madeira: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Next up on our trip to the best places in Ohio is Upper Arlington, a Columbus suburb of 36,566 and the most populous city on this list. Homes are quite costly in Upper Arlington, but residents can handle it seeing as the median household income here is $132,783/year, the 9th highest in the state.

The success of Upper Arlington is no coincidence. Over three quarters of residents have at least a bachelor’s degree, which has a tremendous impact on earning potential. Speaking of potential, Upper Arlington makes sure that its student population lives up to theirs. How do we know? Well, Upper Arlington High School has received a College Success Award from GreatSchools for the past two years, with an emphasis on top-ranking test scores and a perfect 10/10 for students’ college readiness.

Upper Arlington is also close to Columbus’ German Village, a historic district with old, three-story maximum architecture and brick streets that’s as good for a wholesome day out as it is for an exciting night on the town.

More on Upper Arlington: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

We’ll take a short drive west to another Cincy suburb to arrive at our 3rd best city in Ohio, Wyoming. As one of the richest places in Ohio, with a median household income of $133,500/year, Wyoming has an unshakeable economy. And with the 2nd lowest poverty level in Ohio, 1.2%, you can feel secure in knowing that all Wyoming’s residents are along for the ride. Add to that the 8th highest rate of health insurance coverage in the state, and you’ve got a city where unwelcome surprises are much less devastating.

Wyoming also has a crime rate about 60% below the national average, so the sound of police sirens should rarely be a part of your day-to-day life here.

Baseball fans might consider going in on season tickets, because from Wyoming, you can be at a Reds Game in just 20 minutes.

More on Wyoming: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Wrapping up our list of best places to call home in Ohio is Pepper Pike, an eastern suburb of Cleveland. While homes in Pepper Pike are the 2nd priciest in the state, residents are also compensated with the 2nd highest paychecks as well. The median household income in Pepper Pike is $190,703/year and 99.1% of people living here have health insurance, the 3rd highest rate of coverage in Ohio.

Another thing to note about Pepper Pike is the educational prowess of the population. Over 40% of people here have a master’s, PhD, or professional degree, so definitely study up before a pub quiz night here if you don’t want to stand out for the wrong reasons. And the schools for the young-uns? Well, we think the 10/10 education score Pepper Pike got on our SnackAbility scale speaks for itself.

Since smarter people tend to eat better, we think Pepper Pikers are willing to make the half hour drive to Cleveland’s West Side Market for the freshest food in town. Even if you’re not there for groceries, wandering around the 100+ stalls is a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

More on Pepper Pike: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Rocky River is a Cleveland suburb of 21,515 located along the shore of Lake Erie. If you prefer the company of women, Rocky River might just be the place for you, because at 54.5%, it has the greatest percentage of women among the places listed here. And as the second most densely populated spot on this list, you’d better believe Rocky River is a hub of activity.

Rocky River also has the 14th lowest crime rate in the state. So you won’t have to worry for your kiddos’ safety when they head off to school. Speaking of which, all levels of education in Rocky River (elementary, middle, and high school) got scores of 9/10 on GreatSchools, so from start to finish, kids get the best possible learning experience here.

And for folks who never change the radio from the classic rock station, being just 20 minutes down the road from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a welcome bonus.

More on Rocky River: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Let’s start our tour of the best places to live in Ohio with Grandview Heights, a suburb just minutes from downtown Columbus. Thanks to Grandview Heights’ proximity to the Ohio’s capital city, it ranks as the 13th most densely populated and has the 36th shortest commute (18 minutes) in the whole state. Both of which are the best of cities included on this list.

Besides being in the middle of the action, Grandview Heights has a lot going for it. Like a super smart population where over 30% of people have at least a master’s degree. And a poverty level and unemployment rate at 4.7% and 2.0% respectively, both among the lowest in Ohio. This rock solid economy with highly educated workers translates into big salaries, because the median household income in Grandview Heights is $89,415/year.

While there’s plenty to do in Grandview Heights itself, we think it’s extra cool that you can be at a Buckeyes’ game at Ohio Stadium with 100,000 of your closest friends in just ten minutes. Just be sure to make your move to Grandview Heights quickly, because the secret is out and its one of the fastest growing cities in Ohio.

More on Grandview Heights: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Montgomery is an affluent Cincinnati suburb of 10,796. While home prices in Montgomery are among the highest in the state, people here are paid enough to shoulder the burden. In fact, at $131,856/year, Montgomery residents enjoy the 10th highest median household income in Ohio.

Don’t think that Montgomery only caters to the 1% either. With a 1.5% poverty level and 99.4% of people covered by health insurance, everyone here can get by (and then some). Not to mention that, with a 10/10 SnackAbility score for education, Montgomery’s youth gets access to some of the best schools in the state.

And with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden a short drive away, you’ve always got the perfect family (or date) activity right in your backyard. Even if you cap off your day with a walk around Smale Riverfront Park, you can still be back in Montgomery before dinnertime.

More on Montgomery: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Situated southeast of Dayton, Bellbrook ranks as Ohio’s 8th best place to live. For starters, Bellbrook achieved a sub-1% unemployment rate; the 3rd lowest rate in all of Ohio.

And since folks with jobs don’t have as much reason to commit crimes, it makes sense that Bellbrook’s overall crime rate is about 70% below the national average.

So what’s there to do in Bellbrook? Well, each year, the city hosts two festivals — one dedicated to Sugar Maple and another to Lions. On top of that, for a community of 7,266 people, Bellbrook has some excellent dining options.

The best part is how affordable Bellbrook is. It got an overall cost of living score of 97, where the national average is 100. Homes in Bellbrook have a median price tag of $193,300, and the median household income is $97,555.

More on Bellbrook: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Bexley, located in Franklin County, is a great place to live for numerous reasons. This suburban city offers a low cost of living and is known for its attractive median home price, which is ranked 7th in the state.

Bexley is very close to Columbus, the state capital of Ohio. This allows Bexley access to the numerous amenities and entertainment options that Columbus has to offer. Bexley itself is home to beautiful parks such as Driving Park and Wolfe Park, as well as the renowned Franklin Park Conservatory. Additionally, the city is famous for its large houses and estates, particularly in the Bullitt Park area, where you can find notable landmarks like the Jeffrey Park Mansion and the Ohio Governor’s Mansion.

More on Bexley: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Clocking in as the 10th best place to call home in Ohio is Powell, one of Columbus’ best suburbs. You don’t have to worry about finding fun things to do in Powell because this city of 13,879 is chock full of exciting amenities.

Powell is home to the Columbus Zoo and Zoombezi Bay, a waterpark. Both are big hits with families, which makes sense considering that 49.76% of Powell’s households have kids. For nature lovers, there’s also the Emily Traphagen Preserve, where you can spot several types of birds.

GreatSchools gave Powell’s school district an average score of 8/10, most public schools score in the top 5% statewide, and the city has achieved the 6th lowest high school dropout rate in Ohio. No wonder Powell is one of Ohio’s fastest-growing cities.

Additionally, Powell has the 4th lowest poverty rate and 36th highest rate of health-insured residents in Ohio, so everybody gets a piece of the pie here. The median household income in Powell is $168,046, the 3rd highest in Ohio. The median home value in Powell is the 5th highest statewide at $416,000.

More on Powell: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In Ohio

Now that we had our set of the best possible cities, it was time to rank them.

We ranked each place in Ohio across a number of criteria from one to 250, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Place To Live In Ohio”.

The criteria we looked to determine the best places were:

• Median Home Values
• Median Income
• Population Density (Higher better)
• Unemployment Rate
• Commute Time
• Crime
• Education Levels
• Health Insurance Coverage
• Poverty rates

Sources of criteria include the New Census Data and FBI Crime Data. You can download the best places data here.

After the dust settled, what was the best place to live in Ohio? That would be Madeira.

If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in Ohio.

Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with Madeira at the end of the cul-de-sac.