More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Dayton to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Dayton are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Dayton ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Dayton area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Dayton proper, although Oakwood certainly tries.
We examined the 45 biggest suburbs of Dayton to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Ohio lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Dayton in terms of quality of life.
$43,281 median income · $155,080 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with New Miami, the absolute worst place to live around Dayton according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, New Miami beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Dayton area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s New Miami.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
$50,113 median income · $135,963 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Ohio
Welcome to Trotwood. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 6.6 miles to Dayton. Income levels here are the 6th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $50,113 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$47,143 median income · $186,986 median home price
Located in
Clark County, Ohio
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Dayton suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Springfield on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Dayton suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$48,788 median income · $160,288 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Ohio
If you live in Moraine, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Dayton suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 17th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Dayton. Remember, we looked at 45 cities for this study.
Moraine is about 6.0 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$30,685 median income · $235,065 median home price
Jamestown has the distinction of being a Dayton suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Jamestown has the 15th lowest home values in the metro Dayton area, where the median price is $235,065. The median income is $156,667.
Jamestown has an unemployment rate of 2.0% which ranks 39th worst.
$49,063 median income · $216,257 median home price
Camden has 2,029 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 23.7%.
$57,102 median income · $255,694 median home price
Located in
Warren County, Ohio
Ah, Middletown. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Dayton.
It’s the place with the 14th most out of work residents in the Dayton metro area (5.9%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$56,029 median income · $252,478 median home price
Located in
Greene County, Ohio
Xenia is a city about 15.2 miles from Dayton, but Dayton probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Xenia has the 10th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 10th highest unemployment rate (6.2%) in the entire Dayton metro area.
Homes only cost $252,478 for a reason. That’s cheap for Dayton standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$61,352 median income · $171,957 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Ohio
If you absolutely have to live near Dayton, then Riverside might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Dayton suburb.
About 6.6% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,443 median income · $251,584 median home price
Located in
Clark County, Ohio
Rounding out the ten worst Dayton suburbs to call home is New Carlisle.
Located 14.7 miles outside the city, New Carlisle is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 2nd highest unemployment rate (13.3%), and poverty is far above the area average.
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.
Ohio statewide median: $71,389
Ohio statewide median: $242,141
Ohio statewide median: 4.8%
Ohio statewide median: 13.3%
On the map
Where the worst Dayton suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Dayton for 2026
To figure out how bad a Dayton suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Dayton.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 45 suburbs to evaluate around Dayton.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 45 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Dayton.” We’re looking at you, New Miami.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Dayton.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Dayton Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Miami | 6.86 | 2,223 | $43,281 | $155,080 |
| 2 | Trotwood | 8.86 | 23,041 | $50,113 | $135,963 |
| 3 | Springfield | 9.43 | 58,190 | $47,143 | $186,986 |
| 4 | Moraine | 10.50 | 6,536 | $48,788 | $160,288 |
| 5 | Jamestown | 10.86 | 2,230 | $30,685 | $235,065 |
| 6 | Camden | 12.79 | 2,029 | $49,063 | $216,257 |
| 7 | Middletown | 14.07 | 51,617 | $57,102 | $255,694 |
| 8 | Xenia | 14.50 | 25,689 | $56,029 | $252,478 |
| 9 | Riverside | 14.79 | 24,435 | $61,352 | $171,957 |
| 10 | New Carlisle | 15.00 | 5,544 | $64,443 | $251,584 |
| 11 | Piqua | 16.14 | 20,646 | $67,796 | $180,114 |
| 12 | Franklin | 16.29 | 11,712 | $58,587 | $263,565 |
| 13 | West Carrollton | 17.79 | 12,976 | $61,619 | $175,407 |
| 14 | Arcanum | 18.50 | 2,912 | $60,481 | $238,690 |
| 15 | St. Paris | 18.50 | 2,248 | $58,147 | $238,311 |
| 16 | Cedarville | 19.36 | 4,070 | $63,750 | $324,613 |
| 17 | Miamisburg | 20.29 | 19,948 | $82,900 | $261,699 |
| 18 | Union | 20.43 | 7,037 | $73,353 | $208,332 |
| 19 | Fairborn | 20.57 | 34,534 | $61,751 | $202,698 |
| 20 | West Milton | 20.57 | 4,771 | $62,885 | $234,367 |
| 21 | Covington | 20.64 | 2,596 | $59,750 | $238,398 |
| 22 | Brookville | 22.29 | 5,779 | $63,598 | $265,951 |
| 23 | Huber Heights | 22.29 | 43,455 | $79,131 | $208,880 |
| 24 | Eaton | 22.43 | 8,339 | $51,467 | $245,408 |
| 25 | Vandalia | 22.86 | 15,053 | $73,275 | $240,649 |
| 26 | New Lebanon | 23.07 | 4,169 | $69,906 | $193,676 |
| 27 | Troy | 24.71 | 26,842 | $68,830 | $280,154 |
| 28 | Enon | 25.79 | 2,587 | $96,912 | $241,006 |
| 29 | Morrow | 25.79 | 2,523 | $82,260 | $390,325 |
| 30 | Germantown | 26.92 | 5,825 | $90,125 | $265,382 |
| 31 | Yellow Springs | 27.29 | 3,711 | $85,982 | $375,220 |
| 32 | Waynesville | 27.50 | 2,777 | $79,048 | $468,322 |
| 33 | Kettering | 28.29 | 57,206 | $74,681 | $243,733 |
| 34 | South Lebanon | 28.57 | 6,712 | $104,511 | $386,045 |
| 35 | Clayton | 28.86 | 13,277 | $92,879 | $253,570 |
| 36 | Trenton | 29.93 | 13,583 | $80,635 | $279,523 |
| 37 | Englewood | 31.00 | 13,356 | $80,030 | $234,832 |
| 38 | Lebanon | 31.14 | 21,501 | $83,685 | $397,421 |
| 39 | Monroe | 32.21 | 15,401 | $105,250 | $352,114 |
| 40 | Beavercreek | 32.86 | 47,126 | $110,088 | $332,151 |
| 41 | Centerville | 34.00 | 25,205 | $85,492 | $383,031 |
| 42 | Mason | 38.00 | 35,509 | $125,401 | $510,362 |
| 43 | Bellbrook | 38.43 | 7,394 | $111,513 | $317,414 |
| 44 | Springboro | 38.50 | 19,980 | $119,659 | $427,302 |
| 45 | Oakwood | 43.00 | 9,458 | $156,667 | $396,573 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 45 suburbs within 30 miles of Dayton.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Dayton where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Dayton with New Miami casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Dayton are New Miami, Trotwood, Springfield, Moraine, Jamestown, Camden, Middletown, Xenia, Riverside, and New Carlisle.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Dayton aren’t all bad. Oakwood takes the cake as the best place to live around Dayton. Not sold on Ohio? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Dayton FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Dayton?
New Miami ranks as the worst suburb around Dayton for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Trotwood and Springfield are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Dayton?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Dayton are New Miami, Trotwood, Springfield, Moraine, Jamestown, Camden, Middletown, Xenia, Riverside, and New Carlisle. We scored all 45 places within 30 miles.
Why does New Miami rank as the worst suburb?
New Miami posts the roughest combined numbers of the 45 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $43,281, a median home value of $155,080, and a poverty rate of 26.0%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Dayton?
Oakwood lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Dayton by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Dayton list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
