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Place dossier plate
SheetOH-VAN-WERT-OH · Van Wert, OH 10,710 pop · income 25th pct · 9 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Van Wert
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Van Wert on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ironton · lowest
45,694
Ironton · lowest
45,694 median HH income
30.8% of the leader · rank #1
Tuntutuliak · near
53,625
Tuntutuliak · near
53,625 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #2
Hinesburg · near
53,627
Hinesburg · near
53,627 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #3
Doyle · near
53,629
Doyle · near
53,629 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #4
Van Wert · this city
53,632
Van Wert · this city
53,632 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #5
Nunda · near
53,636
Nunda · near
53,636 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #6
Montgomery · highest
148,438
Montgomery · highest
148,438 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Van Wert on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 10,710.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Van Wert - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Van Wert places in the 25th percentile for household income and the 11th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
25th
percentile, household income
13th
percentile, home value
22nd
percentile, median rent
11th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Van Wert, OH
Van Wert is a small town in Ohio, home to 10,710 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $53,632 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 13.2%. Home values in Van Wert run a median of $109,700, and the median resident age is 40.5 years. Educational attainment runs 16.7% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 57.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 23 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 188% from five years earlier. Van Wert's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3485.2 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Van Wert's yearly average temperature at 51.0°F with 40.4 inches of precipitation per year and 17.1 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Ohio run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Ohio scores 92.8 (Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,092 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Ohio run around $228, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 55.0 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Van Wert's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to climate and hazard context to schools and households to comparison shortlist to within-city variation to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Van Wert, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Population change
Is Van Wert growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +83 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.7% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 23 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 51.0°F, with 40.4 inches of precipitation and 17.1 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Ohio is 55.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Which cities make useful reference points for Van Wert?
Within Ohio, the closest population matches are Northbrook (10,741 residents, $63,486 income); Richmond Heights (10,677 residents, $56,734 income); Shiloh (10,785 residents, $45,919 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Gages Lake, IL (10,706 residents); Tarboro, NC (10,705 residents); Morro Bay, CA (10,717 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Van Wert?
The NCES join finds 7 public schools within the city match. 16.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
7
Bachelor's degree+
16.7%
Poverty estimate
13.2%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Van Wert?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 13.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$53,632
Home value
$109,700
Value / income
2.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Van Wert?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3485.2 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 53% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3249.2
Violent rate
236.0
Total reported rate
3485.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Van Wert?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 84.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.2%
Work from home
2.9%
Drive alone
84.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 4,892 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 13.2% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
92.8 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Ohio average
F
City profile score · Van Wert, OH
39/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living B+
92.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime D
236 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate F
13.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$53,632
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Van Wert profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 75/100 (B+) · 92.8 index
Violent crime: 42/100 (D) · 236 /100k
Poverty rate: 27/100 (F) · 13.2%
Household income: 25/100 (F) · $53,632
Bachelor's+ share: 25/100 (F) · 16.7%
Where Van Wert sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Van Wert's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Van Wert highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Van Wert, OH (this city): home $109,700, crime 3,485/100k
Tarboro, NC : home $155,500, crime 3,361/100k
Morro Bay, CA : home $864,900, crime 1,082/100k
Orono, ME : home $219,200, crime 150/100k
Richmond Heights, OH : home $176,100, crime 980/100k
Montgomery, OH : home $505,800, crime 696/100k
Ironton, OH : home $112,400, crime 745/100k
Heath, OH : home $215,000, crime 4,536/100k
How does Van Wert compare to other US cities?
Here's how Van Wert stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income25% higher than other cities
Home value13% pricier than other cities
Median rent22% pricier than other cities
Safety11% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Ohio, Van Wert ranks #256 of 281 Ohio cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Van Wert against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Ohio only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Ohio-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Van Wert near the bottom of Ohio's cities
Among the 1,196 Ohio cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Van Wert ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Van Wert only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#833 of 1,145
27th percentile in Ohio
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,196
0th percentile in Ohio
Median Home Value
#876 of 1,164
25th percentile in Ohio
Poverty Rate
#313 of 1,196
74th percentile in Ohio
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#648 of 1,196
45th percentile in Ohio
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Ohio only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
25th percentile nationally for median household income · 11th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Van Wert's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Van Wert's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Van Wert's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$109,700Among the most affordablemore affordable than 87% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Van Wert's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,795 of 15,516
More affordable than 88% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#77 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.0×, Van Wert sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,795 of 15,516 and #77 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$53,632Van Wert, OH median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Van Wert, OH median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Van Wert, OH.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)13.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)57.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
10,710
Median Income
$53,632
Median Home Value
$109,700
Median Age
40.5
Poverty Rate
13.2%
Labor force participation
57.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3485.2
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
236.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3249.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
51.0°F
Annual Precipitation
40.4"
Annual Snowfall
17.1"
Schools
Total Schools
7
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Van Wert's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
11,117 residents
2021
11,087 residents
2022
11,043 residents
2023
11,021 residents
2024
11,118 residents
2025
11,200 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
23
housing units authorized
Single-Family
23
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.1
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
8
8
0
$1.7M
2020
26
21
5
$5.8M
2021
14
14
0
$4.4M
2022
19
19
0
$5.6M
2023
20
20
0
$5.5M
2024
23
23
0
$7.6M
Permit volume increased 188% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
84.3%
Carpool
8.9%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
2.1%
Work from Home
2.9%
Other
1.6%
Based on 4,892 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Ohio statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $228
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Ohio at $228 (electricity about $105 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Ohio statewide averages, not a meter reading for Van Wert. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Ohio's BEA cost-of-living index is 92.8 (Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Van Wert is $1,092/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Ohio statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.0 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Ohio statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Van Wert sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Van Wert compares to similar-size Ohio cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.