Is being in an area of Ohio that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask.
Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Columbus and Cleveland, while others want peace and quiet like in St. Clairsville and Uhrichsville, thank you very much.
But today, we’re going to put opinions aside and look at the cold, hard facts — since 2010, which cities in Ohio have grown the fastest.
After getting knee-deep in the Census’s American Community Survey using Saturday Night Science, we emerged with this set of cities in the Buckeye State that have people climbing over each other to get in.
76.2% growth since 2010 · 2,903 net new residents
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
44.0% growth since 2010 · 7,474 net new residents
Located in
Franklin County, Ohio
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
39.3% growth since 2010 · 3,690 net new residents
Located in
Hamilton County, Ohio
Harrison is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The city is located in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. The population was 9,897 at the 2010 census and was estimated in 2016 to be 11,048.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
38.3% growth since 2010 · 10,528 net new residents
Located in
Franklin County, Ohio
Hilliard is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 28,435 at the 2010 census with a census estimate of 31,012 in 2013. It is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio and part of Norwich Township. Hilliard is home to the Early Television Museum, the second largest First Responders Park in the United States, Heritage Rail Trail and Bo Jackson Elite Sports Facility. Hilliard also has the only flag from the World Trade Center that is not in a museum. The flag is located in front of the fire department on Northwest Pkwy.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
34.1% growth since 2010 · 3,678 net new residents
Located in
Delaware County, Ohio
owell is an affluent city in Delaware County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,500 at the 2010 census.
The community was first settled around 1801, two years before Ohio became a state. It was named “Middlebury” at the time, because the first settlers came from the Middlebury, Connecticut area. In 1857, Judge Thomas Powell established the first post office in the community, and the residents decided to adopt his name. The town of Powell had its start in the building of the railroad through that territory. Powell was finally incorporated as a municipality in 1947. The population remained small until the late 1980s, when residential development expanding from the northern Columbus metropolitan area reached Powell. In twenty years, the population rose from less than 400 to over 6,000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
32.4% growth since 2010 · 10,917 net new residents
Located in
Delaware County, Ohio
Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about 30 miles north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area. The population was 34,753 at the 2010 census, while the Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH Combined Statistical Area has 2,002,604 people.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
32.1% growth since 2010 · 2,099 net new residents
Located in
Franklin County, Ohio
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
29.8% growth since 2010 · 3,533 net new residents
Located in
Warren County, Ohio
Monroe is a city located in east central Butler and west central Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 12,442, up from 4,008 in 1990.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
29.7% growth since 2010 · 5,803 net new residents
Located in
Lorain County, Ohio
Avon is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The population was 21,193 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
29.4% growth since 2010 · 8,324 net new residents
Located in
Lorain County, Ohio
North Ridgeville is a city located along the eastern border of Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The city’s population was 29,465 at the 2010 census. A west side suburb of Cleveland, North Ridgeville was the fastest-growing city in the entire Greater Cleveland area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Ohio’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Ohio’s growth is happening
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In the Buckeye State for 2026
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we used Saturday Night Science to look at the growth rates for cities since the beginning of the decade, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Current Population
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to Current (the latest available data, which came out in Dec 2024)
We ranked all 243 Ohio cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest-growing city in the Buckeye State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula: [Current Population – Population 2010] / [Population 2010].
The data has been updated for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the fastest growing cities in Ohio.
The full plate
Fastest Growing Places In Ohio For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Population 2010 | Growth | Absolute Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Lebanon | 6,712 | 3,809 | 76.2% | 2,903 |
| 2 | Pickerington | 24,477 | 17,003 | 44.0% | 7,474 |
| 3 | Harrison | 13,084 | 9,394 | 39.3% | 3,690 |
| 4 | Hilliard | 38,033 | 27,505 | 38.3% | 10,528 |
| 5 | Powell | 14,451 | 10,773 | 34.1% | 3,678 |
| 6 | Delaware | 44,589 | 33,672 | 32.4% | 10,917 |
| 7 | Grandview Heights | 8,647 | 6,548 | 32.1% | 2,099 |
| 8 | Monroe | 15,401 | 11,868 | 29.8% | 3,533 |
| 9 | Avon | 25,317 | 19,514 | 29.7% | 5,803 |
| 10 | North Ridgeville | 36,627 | 28,303 | 29.4% | 8,324 |
| 11 | Marysville | 27,518 | 21,296 | 29.2% | 6,222 |
| 12 | Pataskala | 18,223 | 14,170 | 28.6% | 4,053 |
| 13 | Dublin | 49,294 | 39,245 | 25.6% | 10,049 |
| 14 | Grove City | 42,517 | 33,947 | 25.2% | 8,570 |
| 15 | Perrysburg | 25,181 | 20,264 | 24.3% | 4,917 |
| 16 | Trenton | 13,583 | 11,354 | 19.6% | 2,229 |
| 17 | Mason | 35,509 | 29,862 | 18.9% | 5,647 |
| 18 | Columbus | 914,802 | 770,407 | 18.7% | 144,395 |
| 19 | Reynoldsburg | 41,224 | 34,974 | 17.9% | 6,250 |
| 20 | Avon Lake | 25,752 | 21,882 | 17.7% | 3,870 |
| 21 | Springboro | 19,980 | 17,072 | 17.0% | 2,908 |
| 22 | Beachwood | 13,865 | 11,932 | 16.2% | 1,933 |
| 23 | Aurora | 17,581 | 15,196 | 15.7% | 2,385 |
| 24 | Wadsworth | 24,492 | 21,211 | 15.5% | 3,281 |
| 25 | Pepper Pike | 6,840 | 5,951 | 14.9% | 889 |
| 26 | Huber Heights | 43,455 | 37,837 | 14.8% | 5,618 |
| 27 | Streetsboro | 17,661 | 15,383 | 14.8% | 2,278 |
| 28 | Mount Healthy | 6,919 | 6,091 | 13.6% | 828 |
| 29 | Union | 7,037 | 6,218 | 13.2% | 819 |
| 30 | Macedonia | 12,152 | 10,863 | 11.9% | 1,289 |
| 31 | Blue Ash | 13,455 | 12,059 | 11.6% | 1,396 |
| 32 | Loveland | 13,197 | 11,845 | 11.4% | 1,352 |
| 33 | Whitehall | 20,019 | 18,169 | 10.2% | 1,850 |
| 34 | Ontario | 6,667 | 6,091 | 9.5% | 576 |
| 35 | Madeira | 9,484 | 8,674 | 9.3% | 810 |
| 36 | Gahanna | 35,486 | 32,590 | 8.9% | 2,896 |
| 37 | Wauseon | 7,505 | 6,905 | 8.7% | 600 |
| 38 | Green | 27,393 | 25,224 | 8.6% | 2,169 |
| 39 | Worthington | 14,938 | 13,779 | 8.4% | 1,159 |
| 40 | Columbiana | 6,903 | 6,369 | 8.4% | 534 |
| 41 | Tipp City | 10,439 | 9,645 | 8.2% | 794 |
| 42 | Willoughby | 24,046 | 22,238 | 8.1% | 1,808 |
| 43 | Troy | 26,842 | 24,828 | 8.1% | 2,014 |
| 44 | London | 10,484 | 9,709 | 8.0% | 775 |
| 45 | Upper Arlington | 36,293 | 33,645 | 7.9% | 2,648 |
| 46 | Lebanon | 21,501 | 19,943 | 7.8% | 1,558 |
| 47 | Westerville | 38,645 | 35,970 | 7.4% | 2,675 |
| 48 | Forest Park | 20,025 | 18,642 | 7.4% | 1,383 |
| 49 | Fairborn | 34,534 | 32,156 | 7.4% | 2,378 |
| 50 | Amherst | 12,906 | 12,031 | 7.3% | 875 |
| 51 | Granville | 5,999 | 5,593 | 7.3% | 406 |
| 52 | Painesville | 20,548 | 19,191 | 7.1% | 1,357 |
| 53 | Beavercreek | 47,126 | 44,064 | 6.9% | 3,062 |
| 54 | Montgomery | 10,855 | 10,150 | 6.9% | 705 |
| 55 | Lancaster | 41,249 | 38,657 | 6.7% | 2,592 |
| 56 | Newark | 50,783 | 47,605 | 6.7% | 3,178 |
| 57 | Independence | 7,534 | 7,079 | 6.4% | 455 |
| 58 | Rocky River | 21,490 | 20,196 | 6.4% | 1,294 |
| 59 | Willoughby Hills | 9,975 | 9,390 | 6.2% | 585 |
| 60 | Broadview Heights | 19,771 | 18,674 | 5.9% | 1,097 |
| 61 | Circleville | 14,142 | 13,358 | 5.9% | 784 |
| 62 | Bellbrook | 7,394 | 6,989 | 5.8% | 405 |
| 63 | Centerville | 25,205 | 23,838 | 5.7% | 1,367 |
| 64 | Tallmadge | 18,335 | 17,349 | 5.7% | 986 |
| 65 | Heath | 10,644 | 10,074 | 5.7% | 570 |
| 66 | Toronto | 5,293 | 5,015 | 5.5% | 278 |
| 67 | Middletown | 51,617 | 48,944 | 5.5% | 2,673 |
| 68 | Westlake | 34,104 | 32,350 | 5.4% | 1,754 |
| 69 | Sharonville | 14,030 | 13,311 | 5.4% | 719 |
| 70 | Louisville | 9,602 | 9,121 | 5.3% | 481 |
| 71 | Bellefontaine | 13,807 | 13,123 | 5.2% | 684 |
| 72 | Fairfield | 44,828 | 42,634 | 5.1% | 2,194 |
| 73 | The Village of Indian Hill | 6,052 | 5,760 | 5.1% | 292 |
| 74 | Wyoming | 8,723 | 8,318 | 4.9% | 405 |
| 75 | Twinsburg | 19,410 | 18,512 | 4.9% | 898 |
| 76 | Mayfield Heights | 20,022 | 19,109 | 4.8% | 913 |
| 77 | Celina | 10,903 | 10,424 | 4.6% | 479 |
| 78 | Highland Heights | 8,623 | 8,245 | 4.6% | 378 |
| 79 | Defiance | 17,276 | 16,575 | 4.2% | 701 |
| 80 | Solon | 23,943 | 22,983 | 4.2% | 960 |
| 81 | Cincinnati | 311,224 | 300,165 | 3.7% | 11,059 |
| 82 | Strongsville | 45,983 | 44,360 | 3.7% | 1,623 |
| 83 | Napoleon | 8,802 | 8,501 | 3.5% | 301 |
| 84 | North Royalton | 30,972 | 29,965 | 3.4% | 1,007 |
| 85 | Wooster | 26,971 | 26,097 | 3.3% | 874 |
| 86 | Fairlawn | 7,711 | 7,469 | 3.2% | 242 |
| 87 | Hudson | 23,039 | 22,331 | 3.2% | 708 |
| 88 | Oakwood | 9,458 | 9,188 | 2.9% | 270 |
| 89 | Cheviot | 8,660 | 8,413 | 2.9% | 247 |
| 90 | Belpre | 6,654 | 6,485 | 2.6% | 169 |
| 91 | Washington Court House | 14,439 | 14,077 | 2.6% | 362 |
| 92 | Brunswick | 35,246 | 34,406 | 2.4% | 840 |
| 93 | Cuyahoga Falls | 50,909 | 49,710 | 2.4% | 1,199 |
| 94 | Moraine | 6,536 | 6,390 | 2.3% | 146 |
| 95 | North Canton | 17,727 | 17,344 | 2.2% | 383 |
| 96 | Dover | 13,053 | 12,776 | 2.2% | 277 |
| 97 | Bay Village | 15,984 | 15,647 | 2.2% | 337 |
| 98 | Canfield | 7,649 | 7,493 | 2.1% | 156 |
| 99 | Brookville | 5,779 | 5,675 | 1.8% | 104 |
| 100 | Kettering | 57,206 | 56,182 | 1.8% | 1,024 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS, 2010-current. 243 Ohio cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: These Places Grew Up So Fast In Ohio, You Know?
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in Ohio are led by South Lebanon which has been growing at a blistering pace this decade relative to other cities and towns around the state.
The fastest-growing cities in Ohio are South Lebanon, Pickerington, Harrison, Hilliard, Powell, Delaware, Grandview Heights, Monroe, Avon, and North Ridgeville.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same rate over the next couple of years. We’ll be here to let you know!
