More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Toledo to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Toledo are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Toledo ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Toledo area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Toledo proper, although Ottawa Hills certainly tries.
We examined the 22 biggest suburbs of Toledo 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 Toledo in terms of quality of life.
$50,209 median income · $185,079 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Adrian, the absolute worst place to live around Toledo according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Adrian beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Toledo 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 Adrian.
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.
$63,293 median income · $215,751 median home price
Welcome to Delta. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 22.7 miles to Toledo. Income levels here are the 7th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $63,293 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.
$55,469 median income · $194,943 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Toledo suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Walbridge 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 Toledo suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Movers
$59,813 median income · $214,283 median home price
Located in
Ohio
If you live in Monroe, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 5th lowest Toledo suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Toledo. Remember, we looked at 22 cities for this study.
Monroe is about 20.2 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$45,154 median income · $259,039 median home price
Located in
Wood County, Ohio
Bowling Green has the distinction of being a Toledo suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Bowling Green has the 13th lowest home values in the metro Toledo area, where the median price is $259,039. The median income is $167,917.
Bowling Green has an unemployment rate of 5.7% which ranks 5th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,199 median income · $193,165 median home price
Located in
Wood County, Ohio
Rossford has 6,323 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 10.3%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,268 median income · $177,941 median home price
Ah, Northwood. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Toledo.
It’s the place with the 22nd most out of work residents in the Toledo metro area (0.2%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,477 median income · $223,917 median home price
Located in
Fulton County, Ohio
Wauseon is a city about 29.8 miles from Toledo, but Toledo 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. Wauseon has the 11th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 8th highest unemployment rate (4.5%) in the entire Toledo metro area.
Homes only cost $223,917 for a reason. That’s cheap for Toledo standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$68,299 median income · $252,716 median home price
If you absolutely have to live near Toledo, then Swanton might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Toledo suburb.
About 1.4% of residents are out of work.
Data | Movers
$46,211 median income · $206,771 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Toledo suburbs to call home is Oak Harbor.
Located 25.6 miles outside the city, Oak Harbor is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 18th highest unemployment rate (2.1%), and poverty is far above the area average.
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 Toledo suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Toledo for 2026
To figure out how bad a Toledo 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 Toledo.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 22 suburbs to evaluate around Toledo.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 22 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 Toledo.” We’re looking at you, Adrian.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Toledo.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Toledo Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian | 6.00 | 20,395 | $50,209 | $185,079 |
| 2 | Delta | 6.43 | 3,137 | $63,293 | $215,751 |
| 3 | Walbridge | 6.43 | 3,034 | $55,469 | $194,943 |
| 4 | Monroe | 6.86 | 20,320 | $59,813 | $214,283 |
| 5 | Bowling Green | 7.57 | 29,983 | $45,154 | $259,039 |
| 6 | Rossford | 8.71 | 6,323 | $71,199 | $193,165 |
| 7 | Northwood | 8.86 | 5,193 | $77,268 | $177,941 |
| 8 | Wauseon | 9.64 | 7,505 | $64,477 | $223,917 |
| 9 | Swanton | 10.07 | 4,098 | $68,299 | $252,716 |
| 10 | Oak Harbor | 10.71 | 2,314 | $46,211 | $206,771 |
| 11 | Blissfield | 10.71 | 3,234 | $62,059 | $237,812 |
| 12 | Oregon | 10.86 | 19,799 | $82,197 | $224,860 |
| 13 | Gibsonburg | 11.29 | 2,532 | $75,278 | $197,287 |
| 14 | Dundee | 11.86 | 5,744 | $78,837 | $286,249 |
| 15 | Milan | 12.43 | 5,987 | $96,949 | $303,662 |
| 16 | Carleton | 14.86 | 2,595 | $73,365 | $322,605 |
| 17 | Whitehouse | 15.29 | 4,642 | $93,229 | $377,851 |
| 18 | Maumee | 15.57 | 13,715 | $80,833 | $277,737 |
| 19 | Waterville | 15.67 | 6,017 | $104,114 | $340,488 |
| 20 | Sylvania | 16.00 | 19,055 | $100,189 | $319,899 |
| 21 | Perrysburg | 17.71 | 25,181 | $111,643 | $330,761 |
| 22 | Ottawa Hills | 18.57 | 4,798 | $167,917 | $401,865 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 22 suburbs within 30 miles of Toledo.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Toledo where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Toledo with Adrian casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Toledo are Adrian, Delta, Walbridge, Monroe, Bowling Green, Rossford, Northwood, Wauseon, Swanton, and Oak Harbor.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Toledo aren’t all bad. Ottawa Hills takes the cake as the best place to live around Toledo. 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 Toledo FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Toledo?
Adrian ranks as the worst suburb around Toledo for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Delta and Walbridge are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Toledo?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Toledo are Adrian, Delta, Walbridge, Monroe, Bowling Green, Rossford, Northwood, Wauseon, Swanton, and Oak Harbor. We scored all 22 places within 30 miles.
Why does Adrian rank as the worst suburb?
Adrian posts the roughest combined numbers of the 22 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $50,209, a median home value of $185,079, and a poverty rate of 20.3%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Toledo?
Ottawa Hills lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Toledo by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Toledo 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.
