The 10 Dumbest Places In Ohio For 2024


The dumbest places in Ohio are Uhrichsville and Grafton for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Buckeye State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Ohio have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that Ohio is the 24th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 100.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Ohio are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Dumbest Cities In Ohio Map

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 250 cities in Ohio to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more Ohio reading, check out:

The 10 Dumbest Places In Ohio For 2024

Uhrichsville, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Roseohioresident | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 5,238
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 10.0%
More on Uhrichsville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Grafton, OH

Source: Wikipedia User TnrSmith | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 5,730
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 10.0%
More on Grafton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Ashtabula, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 18,003
% Adult High School Dropout: 21.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on Ashtabula: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

East Liverpool, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 9,969
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 8.0%
More on East Liverpool: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Wellston, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 5,420
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 7.0%
More on Wellston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

New Carlisle, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Eric Fredericks | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 5,579
% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on New Carlisle: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 11,672
% Adult High School Dropout: 14.0%
% Highly Educated: 11.0%
More on Franklin: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Washington Court House, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Aesopposea | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 14,387
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 13.0%
More on Washington Court House: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Lorain, OH

Source: Wikipedia User Rona Proudfoot | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10
Population: 65,138
% Adult High School Dropout: 16.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Lorain: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Lima, OH

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population: 35,555
% Adult High School Dropout: 13.0%
% Highly Educated: 10.0%
More on Lima: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Buckeye State

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Ohio:

  • % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
  • % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2018-2022 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Ohio from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every Ohio city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2024, and it’s our tenth time ranking the dumbest cities in Ohio.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in Ohio where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

The dumbest cities in Ohio are Uhrichsville, Grafton, Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Wellston, New Carlisle, Franklin, Washington Court House, Lorain, and Lima.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in Ohio, according to science:

  1. New Albany
  2. Pepper Pike
  3. Montgomery

For more Ohio reading, check out:

Dumbest Cities In Ohio For 2024

Rank City Population % Adult High School Dropout % Highly Educated
1 Uhrichsville, OH 5,238 17.0% 10.0%
2 Grafton, OH 5,730 17.0% 10.0%
3 Ashtabula, OH 18,003 21.0% 11.0%
4 East Liverpool, OH 9,969 15.0% 8.0%
5 Wellston, OH 5,420 15.0% 7.0%
6 New Carlisle, OH 5,579 18.0% 14.0%
7 Franklin, OH 11,672 14.0% 11.0%
8 Washington Court House, OH 14,387 15.0% 13.0%
9 Lorain, OH 65,138 16.0% 14.0%
10 Lima, OH 35,555 13.0% 10.0%
11 Cambridge, OH 10,087 14.0% 13.0%
12 East Cleveland, OH 13,926 16.0% 15.0%
13 Marion, OH 35,927 13.0% 10.0%
14 Youngstown, OH 60,048 15.0% 15.0%
15 Carlisle, OH 5,488 14.0% 14.0%
16 Mansfield, OH 47,630 15.0% 15.0%
17 Zanesville, OH 24,772 13.0% 13.0%
18 Bryan, OH 8,670 13.0% 14.0%
19 Bucyrus, OH 11,643 12.0% 11.0%
20 Obetz, OH 5,580 14.0% 15.0%
21 Hamilton, OH 63,149 14.0% 15.0%
22 Whitehall, OH 20,035 13.0% 14.0%
23 Garfield Heights, OH 29,497 13.0% 14.0%
24 Springfield, OH 58,645 14.0% 15.0%
25 Canton, OH 70,589 13.0% 14.0%
26 Willard, OH 6,189 12.0% 13.0%
27 Campbell, OH 7,819 16.0% 17.0%
28 Warren, OH 39,204 14.0% 16.0%
29 London, OH 10,316 16.0% 18.0%
30 Galion, OH 10,378 12.0% 14.0%
31 Fostoria, OH 12,904 10.0% 11.0%
32 Piqua, OH 20,441 11.0% 13.0%
33 North College Hill, OH 9,602 14.0% 17.0%
34 Middletown, OH 50,514 14.0% 17.0%
35 Sidney, OH 20,350 13.0% 16.0%
36 Portsmouth, OH 18,130 14.0% 18.0%
37 Elyria, OH 52,780 12.0% 15.0%
38 Cleveland, OH 370,365 18.0% 20.0%
39 Maple Heights, OH 23,473 11.0% 15.0%
40 Hillsboro, OH 6,492 13.0% 17.0%
41 Conneaut, OH 12,372 12.0% 16.0%
42 Painesville, OH 20,387 16.0% 20.0%
43 St. Marys, OH 8,323 9.0% 13.0%
44 Martins Ferry, OH 6,283 9.0% 11.0%
45 Urbana, OH 11,156 11.0% 16.0%
46 Barberton, OH 25,167 13.0% 18.0%
47 Alliance, OH 21,603 12.0% 17.0%
48 Brook Park, OH 18,509 11.0% 16.0%
49 Moraine, OH 6,484 10.0% 15.0%
50 Salem, OH 11,861 13.0% 19.0%
51 Circleville, OH 14,017 13.0% 19.0%
52 Sandusky, OH 24,964 13.0% 19.0%
53 Fremont, OH 15,900 9.0% 15.0%
54 Shelby, OH 8,360 10.0% 16.0%
55 Dayton, OH 137,305 13.0% 20.0%
56 Port Clinton, OH 6,024 12.0% 19.0%
57 Brooklyn, OH 11,259 12.0% 19.0%
58 Trenton, OH 13,133 8.0% 14.0%
59 Logan, OH 7,168 8.0% 13.0%
60 Norwalk, OH 17,041 10.0% 17.0%
61 Bedford Heights, OH 10,933 10.0% 17.0%
62 Greenville, OH 12,768 10.0% 17.0%
63 Ironton, OH 10,597 11.0% 19.0%
64 Toledo, OH 269,962 12.0% 20.0%
65 Massillon, OH 32,179 9.0% 16.0%
66 Coshocton, OH 11,054 10.0% 19.0%
67 Ravenna, OH 11,323 11.0% 20.0%
68 Kenton, OH 7,685 9.0% 17.0%
69 Xenia, OH 25,499 12.0% 21.0%
70 Bellefontaine, OH 13,785 8.0% 16.0%
71 Defiance, OH 16,852 10.0% 19.0%
72 Rittman, OH 6,058 11.0% 21.0%
73 Riverside, OH 24,482 11.0% 21.0%
74 Belpre, OH 6,690 8.0% 16.0%
75 Bellevue, OH 8,210 8.0% 16.0%
76 Akron, OH 190,273 12.0% 23.0%
77 Springdale, OH 10,991 15.0% 30.0%
78 Girard, OH 9,565 9.0% 19.0%
79 Wapakoneta, OH 9,879 9.0% 19.0%
80 Chillicothe, OH 22,002 9.0% 19.0%
81 Trotwood, OH 23,125 9.0% 19.0%
82 Jackson, OH 6,222 7.0% 16.0%
83 Van Wert, OH 10,828 8.0% 18.0%
84 Wilmington, OH 12,669 10.0% 22.0%
85 Delphos, OH 7,153 10.0% 21.0%
86 Struthers, OH 10,061 8.0% 18.0%
87 Mount Healthy, OH 6,949 7.0% 16.0%
88 Ashland, OH 19,270 10.0% 24.0%
89 Clyde, OH 6,314 8.0% 19.0%
90 West Carrollton, OH 13,060 9.0% 21.0%
91 Fairborn, OH 34,494 11.0% 28.0%
92 Warrensville Heights, OH 13,659 8.0% 19.0%
93 Niles, OH 18,107 9.0% 22.0%
94 Orrville, OH 8,304 10.0% 26.0%
95 Cheviot, OH 8,682 8.0% 20.0%
96 New Philadelphia, OH 17,602 9.0% 23.0%
97 Parma Heights, OH 20,706 10.0% 25.0%
98 Norton, OH 11,643 9.0% 25.0%
99 Parma, OH 80,587 9.0% 24.0%
100 Geneva, OH 5,935 8.0% 21.0%
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

4 thoughts on “The 10 Dumbest Places In Ohio For 2024

  1. While I appreciate that you made your criteria transparent, I will have to say that you did not isolate your variables. Using graduation rates and bar to library ratio says that you did not consider income or city tax income as a factor. It takes money to operate a library, and to build one. Also, bars are for profit, libraries are nonprofit. The data is incongruent with an actual scientific test, and has nothing to do with intelligence. I would say that this is probably a troll link, meant to draw people in who may be offended, and I probably should not have taken the bait. Anyway, this means nothing. Greetings from someone who grew up outside of Marion, OH. Also, all of these areas are economically depressed…if I didn’t stress that before.

  2. Explain to me how men = dumb. That’s the most sexist, misandrist drivel I’ve ever read. You should be ashamed of yourself, and this website needs to fire this sexist idiot.

  3. Niles is 5 mins. From Youngstown, Ohio and isn’t way out by the Pa. Line. We all can get to PA in 15 mins.

  4. Something else to be considered. Many of the cities on this list have state correctional facilities either within the city limits or very nearby. That will skew the data also. The survey was setup/fixed to make the cities/state look awful. People who do surveys like this are only looking for clicks for their advertisers. It is all about the revenue for their pockets.

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