City · Lorain County, Ohio

Amherst, Ohio

Amherst is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, part of the Cleveland, OH metro area. It has 12,906 residents. Amherst, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 63 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,748 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #203 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), mental health care shortage (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), child care cost burden (high) and firearm deaths (high).

63High

Quality-of-life score: #5,748 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #203 of 684 in OH
Population: 12,906 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 1,821.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3901798

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety44#8,797/15,637
Economy61#6,059/15,631
Housing77#3,463/14,977
Health45#8,563/15,609
Healthcare65#5,421/15,650
Environment65#5,365/15,453
Education61#6,180/15,649
Infrastructure67#5,126/15,650
Community52#7,460/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,385/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Amherst, Ohio ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lorain County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Natural hazard risk · low4.2
93/100Ohio 14.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyLorain County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Ohio 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLorain County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low7 mi
88/100Ohio 37 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauLorain County value
New homes permitted · high9.6 /1k
87/100Ohio 2.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.8%
86/100Ohio 8.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low9.6%
84/100Ohio 14.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

High ozone days · high5 days
15/100Ohio 3 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLorain County value
Child care cost burden · high37.5%
15/100Ohio 31.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLorain County value
Firearm deaths · high18.9 /100k
19/100Ohio 13.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLorain County value
Depression · high26.7%
20/100Ohio 26.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Preventable hospital stays · high3,494 /100k
21/100Ohio 3,269 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLorain County value
Restaurants and bars · low6.1 /10k
21/100Ohio 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLorain County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
12,108 (2015-2019) → 12,906 (2020-2024)
+6.6%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
2.8 /1k (2021) → 9.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+238%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
49.1% (2015-2019) → 59.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.0% (2015-2019) → 89.7% (2020-2024)
+5.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$71,775 (2015-2019) → $90,725 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
11.9% (2015-2019) → 7.1% (2020-2024)
−4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Amherst, Ohio improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+26%$71,775 → $90,725
Broadband+5.7 points84.0% → 89.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Amherst, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.1 min2015-2019	25.4 min2020-2024	+3.3 min	Within the margin of error	18%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.9%2015-2019	31.4%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Broadband subscriptions	84.0%2015-2019	89.7%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Improved	36%
Child poverty rate	11.9%2015-2019	7.1%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Effective property tax rate	1.62%2015-2019	1.23%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	83%
High school diploma or higher	93.7%2015-2019	96.2%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	58%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4242015-2019	0.4082020-2024	−0.016	Within the margin of error	65%
Median household income	$71,7752015-2019	$90,7252020-2024	+26%	Improved	47%
Poverty rate	7.6%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Rent-burdened households	49.1%2015-2019	59.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	4.8%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.0%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Within the margin of error	74%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Amherst, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Amherst, Ohio in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Amherst, Ohio itself moved −5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

12,906 residents (±41)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,830 households (±230)

Amherst, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k9.3%†449
$25k–50k14%698
$50k–75k18%867

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,830 households (±230)

Amherst, Ohio
Ohio share

Own88%4,260
Rent12%570

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.4 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

6,526 workers (±466)

Amherst, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone81%5,258
Carpool8.5%†552
Public transit0.2%†13

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Cleveland, OH

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lorain County, the county holding most of Amherst's residents.

Lorain County has 5,664 employer establishments, 178 for every 10,000 residents (0.72× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Ohio's), with 89,159 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,384. The Census Bureau also counts 22,853 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,664; 22,853 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 178; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 89,159
Average annual pay: $50,384; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lorain County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	451	14.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	8,920	$18,979	84
Specialty trade contractors	414	13	0.84×About typical	2,785	$66,297	1,899
Ambulatory health care services	412	12.9	0.62×Fewer than typical	6,159	$75,025	1,162
Limited-service restaurants	236	7.4	0.92×About typical	4,983	$17,103	46
Services to buildings and dwellings	220	6.9	1.02×About typical	1,746	$46,105	1,286
Lessors of real estate	185	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	594	$40,567	2,092
Religious organizations	172	5.4	0.97×About typical	1,087	$22,825	—
Full-service restaurants	160	5	0.65×Fewer than typical	3,317	$22,396	26
Construction of buildings	157	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	842	$55,761	628
Landscaping services	149	4.7	1.33×More than typical	1,216	$53,429	439
Automotive repair and maintenance	143	4.5	0.89×About typical	643	$47,967	279
Personal care services	134	4.2	0.88×About typical	737	$28,121	980

Rank places for an industry Open Lorain County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 318,804 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $56.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Amherst, Ohio: $4.38 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $56.5K; +1,240% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4.38; US $1,994
Sole-source: 8.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 76%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Air Force$42.7K76%
Department of Veterans Affairs$13.8K24%

Top recipients

NEOEX SYSTEMS, INC.$42.7K76%
LEIMKUEHLER ORTHOTIC-PROSTHETIC CENTER, INC.$13.8K24%

Spending by fiscal year

32.4KFY2017
219.2KFY2018
2.3KFY2019
303.8KFY2021
9.8KFY2022
19.6KFY2023
1.4MFY2024
4.2KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$42.7K76%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$13.8K24%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Amherst, Ohio, so they do not add up across cities.

Amherst, Ohio's figures are part of those of Lorain County, OH ($23.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Amherst is mostly in Lorain County.

See federal money in Lorain County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Amherst, Ohio is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Robert E. LattaR-OH-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Lorain County61100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cleveland, OH64

Other cities and towns in Lorain County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3901798

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends