Most Americans have never been to small town Ohio. However, as the Ohioan who live there know, small town Ohio is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Ohio has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Buckeye State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 379 of Ohio’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Ohio where you’d never want to live:
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
These are the worst small towns in Ohio for 2024:
- Drexel
- Morgandale
- Newcomer
- Jeffersonville
- Manchester
- Urbancrest
- Nelsonville
- West Union
- West Hill
- Piketon
So what is the worst small town to call home in Ohio for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Drexel is the worst small town to live in Ohio.
While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Drexel home. Everyone
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.
And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Ohio or the worst places to live in Ohio.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.
The 10 Worst Small Towns In Ohio For 2024
1. Drexel
/10
Population: 1,365
Median Home Value: $46,880
Median Income: $33,430
Unemployment Rate: 28.4%
2. Morgandale
Population: 1,361
Median Home Value: $109,405
Median Income: $32,961
Unemployment Rate: 10.0%
3. Newcomer
/10
Population: 3,441
Median Home Value: $106,072
Median Income: $39,824
Unemployment Rate: 25.4%
4. Jeffersonville
/10
Population: 1,085
Median Home Value: $174,209
Median Income: $38,438
Unemployment Rate: 8.9%
5. Manchester
/10
Population: 2,110
Median Home Value: $125,858
Median Income: $30,313
Unemployment Rate: 10.8%
6. Urbancrest
/10
Population: 1,157
Median Home Value: $141,429
Median Income: $34,453
Unemployment Rate: 22.5%
7. Nelsonville
/10
Population: 4,269
Median Home Value: $93,067
Median Income: $37,639
Unemployment Rate: 13.6%
8. West Union
/10
Population: 2,993
Median Home Value: $161,781
Median Income: $33,326
Unemployment Rate: 10.0%
9. West Hill
/10
Population: 2,232
Median Home Value: $72,500
Median Income: $30,590
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%
10. Piketon
/10
Population: 2,525
Median Home Value: $157,567
Median Income: $42,019
Unemployment Rate: 15.0%
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in Ohio is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in Ohio, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 379 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in Ohio.
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In Ohio
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Buckeye State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
The worst small towns in Ohio are Drexel, Morgandale, Newcomer, Jeffersonville, Manchester, Urbancrest, Nelsonville, West Union, West Hill, and Piketon.
If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Ohio, according to science:
- Terrace Park (Pop. 2,150)
- Marble Cliff (Pop. 1,009)
- Mariemont (Pop. 3,493)
For more Ohio reading, check out:
Worst Small Towns In Ohio
| Rank | Town | Population | Unemployment Rate | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drexel | 1,365 | 28.4% | $46,880 | $33,430 |
| 2 | Morgandale | 1,361 | 10.0% | $109,405 | $32,961 |
| 3 | Newcomer | 3,441 | 25.4% | $106,072 | $39,824 |
| 4 | Jeffersonville | 1,085 | 8.9% | $174,209 | $38,438 |
| 5 | Manchester | 2,110 | 10.8% | $125,858 | $30,313 |
| 6 | Urbancrest | 1,157 | 22.5% | $141,429 | $34,453 |
| 7 | Nelsonville | 4,269 | 13.6% | $93,067 | $37,639 |
| 8 | West Union | 2,993 | 10.0% | $161,781 | $33,326 |
| 9 | West Hill | 2,232 | 6.9% | $72,500 | $30,590 |
| 10 | Piketon | 2,525 | 15.0% | $157,567 | $42,019 |
| 11 | Winchester | 1,242 | 10.6% | $206,761 | $43,036 |
| 12 | Salineville | 1,195 | 4.1% | $109,367 | $41,198 |
| 13 | Stony Prairie | 1,725 | 5.6% | $134,405 | $44,056 |
| 14 | Ripley | 1,609 | 11.7% | $159,860 | $42,900 |
| 15 | Powhatan Point | 1,493 | 5.5% | $123,275 | $45,509 |
| 16 | New Boston | 2,572 | 9.9% | $51,205 | $26,972 |
| 17 | Pomeroy | 1,605 | 3.8% | $85,611 | $34,583 |
| 18 | Sawyerwood | 1,381 | 23.3% | $115,715 | $50,625 |
| 19 | Orwell | 1,804 | 7.0% | $204,291 | $42,063 |
| 20 | Union City | 1,528 | 7.7% | $131,842 | $36,776 |
| 21 | Windham | 1,777 | 13.9% | $158,950 | $39,000 |
| 22 | Gallipolis | 3,337 | 6.0% | $146,179 | $48,380 |
| 23 | New Miami | 2,411 | 16.8% | $131,609 | $45,046 |
| 24 | Rosemount | 2,013 | 10.9% | $127,125 | $45,117 |
| 25 | Russells Point | 1,240 | 9.6% | $177,124 | $38,224 |
| 26 | Matamoras | 1,154 | 17.1% | $89,132 | $21,125 |
| 27 | Peebles | 2,031 | 17.2% | $94,283 | $44,200 |
| 28 | Woodsfield | 2,321 | 14.3% | $138,757 | $38,490 |
| 29 | Greenfield | 4,237 | 6.6% | $151,533 | $42,253 |
| 30 | Wellsville | 3,109 | 11.4% | $101,146 | $38,229 |
| 31 | Elmwood Place | 2,312 | 6.8% | $98,184 | $36,773 |
| 32 | Coal Grove | 2,047 | 10.4% | $84,708 | $51,394 |
| 33 | Leipsic | 2,215 | 3.1% | $138,846 | $59,750 |
| 34 | Georg | 4,323 | 2.6% | $129,405 | $37,796 |
| 35 | Glouster | 1,559 | 4.6% | $51,458 | $36,905 |
| 36 | Crystal Lakes | 1,605 | 9.8% | $133,691 | $55,714 |
| 37 | New London | 2,531 | 8.7% | $172,681 | $50,778 |
| 38 | North Randall | 1,113 | 20.8% | $146,684 | $40,976 |
| 39 | Sebring | 4,185 | 11.5% | $99,117 | $46,387 |
| 40 | Waynesburg | 1,091 | 9.0% | $159,735 | $45,833 |
| 41 | Deshler | 1,679 | 4.9% | $146,589 | $57,273 |
| 42 | Geneva-On-The-Lake | 1,085 | 6.9% | $159,230 | $45,755 |
| 43 | Mcarthur | 1,816 | 5.0% | $146,246 | $51,061 |
| 44 | La Croft | 1,133 | 8.7% | $94,286 | $40,179 |
| 45 | Fayette | 1,177 | 5.3% | $148,203 | $41,016 |
| 46 | Lakeview | 1,140 | 6.2% | $170,716 | $42,750 |
| 47 | Lincoln Heights | 3,140 | 26.5% | $99,722 | $14,676 |
| 48 | Paulding | 3,638 | 10.8% | $139,522 | $52,750 |
| 49 | Mcconnelsville | 2,197 | 4.4% | $147,071 | $46,875 |
| 50 | Bethesda | 1,237 | 5.5% | $107,566 | $37,000 |
| 51 | West Lafayette | 2,622 | 7.2% | $148,342 | $39,783 |
| 52 | Newburgh Heights | 1,760 | 7.7% | $98,005 | $53,661 |
| 53 | Aberdeen | 1,298 | 4.1% | $168,164 | $37,361 |
| 54 | Neffs | 1,093 | 4.1% | $89,524 | $35,000 |
| 55 | Lowellville | 1,102 | 4.3% | $152,754 | $51,458 |
| 56 | Montpelier | 3,928 | 6.1% | $135,936 | $46,868 |
| 57 | Blanchester | 4,640 | 12.2% | $230,563 | $43,611 |
| 58 | Oak Hill | 1,698 | 7.5% | $92,378 | $37,500 |
| 59 | Brilliant | 1,068 | 4.0% | $80,998 | $47,727 |
| 60 | Newton Falls | 4,562 | 6.9% | $148,175 | $50,738 |
| 61 | Wolfhurst | 1,290 | 14.2% | $92,262 | $42,838 |
| 62 | Plymouth | 1,788 | 7.6% | $147,162 | $63,594 |
| 63 | Dennison | 2,657 | 12.3% | $135,928 | $52,530 |
| 64 | Bridgeport | 1,449 | 8.3% | $88,299 | $51,045 |
| 65 | Bellaire | 3,878 | 9.3% | $94,419 | $40,650 |
| 66 | Pioneer | 1,333 | 4.6% | $149,468 | $46,528 |
| 67 | Lockland | 3,497 | 7.3% | $142,914 | $44,770 |
| 68 | Crooksville | 2,311 | 4.8% | $120,821 | $42,348 |
| 69 | Payne | 1,458 | 6.9% | $148,522 | $55,197 |
| 70 | Leavittsburg | 1,116 | 5.5% | $74,492 | $56,579 |
| 71 | Edgewood | 4,381 | 5.4% | $126,786 | $55,401 |
| 72 | Middleport | 2,053 | 2.7% | $66,145 | $36,343 |
| 73 | Forest | 1,455 | 3.1% | $121,726 | $46,731 |
| 74 | Byesville | 2,258 | 6.1% | $124,006 | $36,803 |
| 75 | South Canal | 1,013 | 2.5% | $148,096 | $59,760 |
| 76 | The Plains | 2,724 | 5.3% | $166,894 | $52,794 |
| 77 | Hopedale | 1,086 | 3.6% | $143,583 | $47,813 |
| 78 | Crestline | 4,490 | 5.5% | $131,782 | $49,471 |
| 79 | Jackson Center | 1,352 | 6.6% | $181,498 | $57,056 |
| 80 | New Paris | 1,443 | 10.3% | $176,683 | $40,234 |
| 81 | Sardinia | 1,328 | 2.3% | $252,227 | $54,375 |
| 82 | Mingo Junction | 3,565 | 4.5% | $80,960 | $58,141 |
| 83 | Fairfield Beach | 1,250 | 11.4% | $199,406 | $42,759 |
| 84 | Mount Orab | 4,544 | 7.0% | $228,823 | $62,833 |
| 85 | Batavia | 2,606 | 16.1% | $291,148 | $55,169 |
| 86 | East Palestine | 4,723 | 3.7% | $124,670 | $49,766 |
| 87 | Masury | 2,212 | 7.1% | $77,059 | $43,688 |
| 88 | Walbridge | 3,023 | 7.8% | $174,976 | $51,563 |
| 89 | Reno | 1,295 | 14.0% | $186,192 | $38,895 |
| 90 | Bethel | 2,638 | 9.8% | $225,577 | $40,625 |
| 91 | Arlington Heights | 1,017 | 10.0% | $131,818 | $47,875 |
| 92 | South Zanesville | 1,876 | 3.2% | $130,237 | $38,170 |
| 93 | Spencerville | 2,127 | 7.9% | $173,332 | $40,455 |
| 94 | Leetonia | 2,075 | 7.9% | $154,791 | $59,688 |
| 95 | Fairport Harbor | 3,100 | 5.8% | $158,688 | $53,654 |
| 96 | Walnut Creek | 1,302 | 22.6% | $279,288 | $86,696 |
| 97 | Mount Sterling | 1,890 | 7.8% | $259,030 | $59,514 |
| 98 | Sabina | 2,606 | 1.5% | $161,790 | $45,833 |
| 99 | West Portsmouth | 2,540 | 0.0% | $93,291 | $38,356 |
| 100 | Loudonville | 2,898 | 5.1% | $205,838 | $51,557 |
We live in Cecil and it’s not that bad a town. Yes it is small, and yes there is close to nothing to do, but that is because it is a farming community. Most towns in Ohio are boring, even the large city of Defiance which is 15min away can be very boring. When it comes to fun you usually need to go to a very large city to find any, it’s obvious you won’t find anything in a little village. To add, no matter where you live you will find bad neighbors and dangerous people, there’s no way of avoiding that. Don’t let this article scare you away.
This article is insulting and inaccurate. For one thing the directions to Macksburg are incorrect. It is not off the first exit before WV. It isn’t even off the second exit. If you are going to post something like this please at least check your facts. Also when reporting the crime rates it would be helpful to give people an idea of how the crime ranks to other towns on an annual basis, i.e. How many murders/year, how many drug busts/year. Most of these have less than one murder a year making them still a very safe place to live. I grew up in Caldwell Ohio and am familiar with several of these small towns and the people who live there. Your article is hurtful to these people because you are mocking their way of life. Please be more considerate of people’s feelings.
I hunted out of Caldwell in Violet township off rt 78.
I like Caldwell.
But honey, put on your big girl panties and don’t allow yourself to be offended.
If your feelings are hurt, you must have gotten a participation trophy in little league soccer and your parents overprotected your tender self esteem.
Toughen up! Failure teaches you more than living a sheltered unrealistic existence.
None of these villages qualify as a town. How many are even incorporated and collect taxes. This looks like an attempt to just kick the residents of these communities. Is your company too stupid to know the difference between a town and villages or hamlets? And I don’t live in any of the so-called 100 worst places.
From the English Dictionary definition: a place where there are a lot of houses, stores, and other buildings which is smaller than a city:
[C] He was born in the small town of Elnora, Indiana.
[U] We stayed at the best hotel in town.
Rude. Why do this? Dislike, and I hope I can find a way to discourage purchase of anything that you endorse.
I live in rogers and where they get the crime rate surprised me. Are they counting speeding tickets and running the only red light? And by the way, where is a 75000 house? Mine was a lot more than that!
I am a council member and your facts are all wrong I suggest you go to the county information and stay away from Facebook.Our population is larger and as for high school diplomas my family alone will dis credit that fact . our crime rate is lowest in the county and the state . we have had only one arrest in three years .before you spout off nonsense you need to do more research
This is ridiculous. There are lots worse places to live. Let’s start with EVERY place that borders on the Cuyahoga River. When you live on a river that is so polluted it catches on fire every month or so and they have to bring the fireboat to spray foam on it, THAT is a bad place. A guy driving across the bridge flicks a cigarette out the window and it falls on the river and the water goes up in flames, and you think Irondale is a bad place to live? Get serious. But it gets worse. What about inner city Cincinnati and Cleveland, where you’re afraid to go out at night or walk down the street at noon, where if you pull up at a red light, while you’re stuck there waiting for the light to change, four guys emerge from the alley and pull off your hubcaps and disappear back into the darkness, and you think Irondale is a bad place to live?
There are many “towns” that were missed! Several in Van Wert county alone. Converse, Elgin, Schumm, Glenmore, Dull Station, Dixon, Cavett, Convoy, and so on. Many of these with an even smaller population! Maybe wroth taking another look…
I’ve been to many of these quaint towns. Many of these are quiet commuter towns, Ideal for the person who wants to live close to a more populated area but still live in a friendly small town. Best of two worlds. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.
It ain’t right to label people as being dumb based only on their level of education. My dad was born into depression era West Virgina, and had to help support the family after completing the third grade. He farmed a lot and found he was better at fixing things. While employed at the county as a mechanic he managed to buy some cheap land, build a house and a garage on it, started a nice orchard and a big garden. My brothers and I ate very well growing up. Dad retired to his own business in the garage he built. So be careful of how you label people.
Nothing wrong with small towns.Most people who live in small towns like it.
As a native of ohio, I must say, don’t forget Coshocton. Sadly, Coshocton is one of the worst I’ve been too. I’m honestly surprised it didn’t make this list!
You did give an abbreviated rundown as to how you collected the data in your article. One was that you had never visited any of these towns. Totally statistical driven…Hmmm.
Springfield Ohio should be on this list.
Rogers has one of the best known flea markets in US. They bring tour busses in to shop. While visiting in Florida,(being from Ohio) I was asked if I knew where the flea market was. I did. I live just 12 miles from it. ….