Census-designated place · Knox County, Ohio

Apple Valley, Ohio

Apple Valley is a census-designated place in Knox County, Ohio, part of the Mount Vernon, OH metro area. It has 5,548 residents. Apple Valley, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 69 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,779 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #140 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), unemployment rate (low) and lack of reliable transportation (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), pharmacies (low) and suicide rate (high).

69High

Quality-of-life score: #4,779 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #140 of 684 in OH
Population: 5,548 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 922.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 3902266

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety75#3,945/15,637
Economy83#2,722/15,631
Housing90#1,566/14,977
Health61#6,120/15,609
Healthcare33#10,521/15,650
Environment68#4,988/15,453
Education77#3,567/15,649
Infrastructure53#7,278/15,650
Community46#8,439/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,250/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Apple Valley, Ohio ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Knox 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

Property crime rate · low414 /100k
93/100Ohio 1,429 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationKnox County value
Unemployment rate · low1.0%
92/100Ohio 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.3%
91/100Ohio 8.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100Ohio 11%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAKnox County value
Food insecurity · low8.5%
89/100Ohio 14.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Rent as share of income · low26.7%
89/100Ohio 28.3%United States 30.6%2019-2023U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high42.4%
4/100Ohio 31.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKnox County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
7/100Ohio 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKnox County value
Suicide rate · high22.1 /100k
14/100Ohio 15.5 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataKnox County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.5 /10k
15/100Ohio 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKnox County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high70 mi
18/100Ohio 37 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauKnox County value
Restaurants and bars · low6.3 /10k
22/100Ohio 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKnox County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
15.1% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
26.6% (2015-2019) → 37.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
19.0% (2015-2019) → 26.7% (2019-2023)
+7.7 pts4 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.2%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.9× (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$76,396 (2015-2019) → $100,593 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
6.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−6 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, Apple Valley, Ohio improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved1

Bachelor's++11 points26.6% → 37.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Apple Valley, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.6 min2015-2019	29.1 min2020-2024	−4.5 min	Within the margin of error	88%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.6%2015-2019	37.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	92%
Broadband subscriptions	94.1%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	−2.5 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Effective property tax rate	1.23%2015-2019	1.14%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
High school diploma or higher	97.6%2015-2019	98.3%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.8×	Within the margin of error	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3312015-2019	0.3732020-2024	+0.042	Within the margin of error	20%
Median household income	$76,3962015-2019	$100,5932020-2024	+32%	Within the margin of error	59%

“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 Apple Valley, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Apple Valley, 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, Apple Valley, Ohio itself moved −5.6 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

5,548 residents (±339)

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

2,286 households (±236)

Apple Valley, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k4.3%†99
$25k–50k13%†302
$50k–75k20%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,286 households (±236)

Apple Valley, Ohio
Ohio share

Own95%2,180
Rent4.6%†106

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+7.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,713 workers (±387)

Apple Valley, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone81%2,199
Carpool6.1%†165
Public transit0.0%0

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 Mount Vernon, 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 Knox County, the county holding most of Apple Valley's residents.

Knox County has 1,121 employer establishments, 177 for every 10,000 residents (0.71× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Ohio's), with 17,629 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,744. The Census Bureau also counts 5,288 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,121; 5,288 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 177; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 17,629
Average annual pay: $49,744; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	88	13.9	0.76×Fewer than typical	1,494	$19,070	16
Specialty trade contractors	87	13.8	0.89×About typical	497	$60,648	665
Ambulatory health care services	64	10.1	0.49×Fewer than typical	520	$50,212	215
Religious organizations	60	9.5	1.71×More than typical	233	$23,082	—
Limited-service restaurants	52	8.2	1.03×About typical	939	$18,250	4
Lessors of real estate	48	7.6	0.62×Fewer than typical	115	$35,643	382
Building equipment contractors	39	6.2	1.03×About typical	294	$60,844	105
Construction of buildings	32	5.1	0.67×Fewer than typical	137	$50,591	344
Services to buildings and dwellings	30	4.7	0.70×Fewer than typical	155	$34,419	334
Truck transportation	29	4.6	0.91×About typical	132	$63,667	173
Full-service restaurants	26	4.1	0.54×Fewer than typical	469	$21,134	4
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	24	3.8	1.15×About typical	226	$62,779	53

Rank places for an industry Open Knox County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 63,186 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Apple Valley, Ohio: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

50.4FY2019

What was bought

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 Apple Valley, Ohio, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Knox 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.

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

House

Troy BaldersonR-OH-12 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

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.

Knox County64100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Mount Vernon, OH52

Other cities and towns in Knox 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
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/3902266

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends