Census-designated place · Sandusky County, Ohio

Ballville, Ohio

Ballville is a census-designated place in Sandusky County, Ohio, part of the Fremont, OH metro area. It has 3,929 residents. Ballville, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 51 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,686 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #317 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), home price to income ratio (low) and dental care shortage (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), distance to an emergency room (high) and comfortable days (low).

51Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,686 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #317 of 684 in OH
Population: 3,929 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 868.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3903716

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety45#8,545/15,637
Economy49#7,903/15,631
Housing90#1,537/14,977
Health35#10,191/15,609
Healthcare30#11,024/15,650
Environment26#11,478/15,453
Education60#6,223/15,649
Infrastructure80#3,201/15,650
Community46#8,446/15,651
Leisure & amenities46#8,491/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.358
92/100Ohio 0.467United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Home price to income ratio · low2.3×
86/100Ohio 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Dental care shortage · low0.0
84/100Ohio 4.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSandusky County value
Average commute time · low19.5 min
84/100Ohio 23.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · low128 min
83/100Ohio 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSandusky County value
Rent-burdened households · low40.7%
82/100Ohio 45.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-3.2%
6/100Ohio -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSandusky County value
Distance to an emergency room · high13.6 mi
9/100Ohio 5.1 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSandusky County value
Comfortable days · low23.4%
11/100Ohio 23.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSandusky County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Ohio 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSandusky County value
New business applications · low9.2 /1k
17/100Ohio 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSandusky County value
Depression · high26.3%
23/100Ohio 26.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,744 (2015-2019) → 3,929 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeImproving
40.8% (2015-2019) → 19.8% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
53.1% (2015-2019) → 40.7% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$58,259 (2015-2019) → $84,896 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.4% (2015-2019) → 94.2% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 6.5% (2020-2024)
+6.5 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, Ballville, Ohio improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved2

Household income+46%$58,259 → $84,896
Broadband+7.9 points86.4% → 94.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Ballville, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.0 min2015-2019	19.5 min2020-2024	−0.5 min	Within the margin of error	54%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.2%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	86.4%2015-2019	94.2%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Improved	49%
Effective property tax rate	1.11%2015-2019	1.10%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	17%
High school diploma or higher	93.4%2015-2019	96.8%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	89%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3892015-2019	0.3582020-2024	−0.031	Within the margin of error	74%
Median household income	$58,2592015-2019	$84,8962020-2024	+46%	Improved	81%
Poverty rate	4.6%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.3%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Within the margin of error	9%

“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 Ballville, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ballville, 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, Ballville, Ohio itself moved +7.4 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

3,929 residents (±367)

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

1,734 households (±185)

Ballville, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k7.4%†128
$25k–50k12%†200
$50k–75k21%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,734 households (±185)

Ballville, Ohio
Ohio share

Own93%1,606
Rent7.4%†128

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† 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

1,857 workers (±253)

Ballville, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone88%1,635
Carpool5.5%†103
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 Fremont, 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 Sandusky County, the county holding most of Ballville's residents.

Sandusky County has 1,250 employer establishments, 213 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.99× Ohio's), with 21,763 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,065. The Census Bureau also counts 3,565 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,250; 3,565 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 213; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 21,763
Average annual pay: $51,065; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	92	15.7	0.85×About typical	1,711	$16,884	11
Specialty trade contractors	92	15.7	1.01×About typical	643	$75,708	311
Ambulatory health care services	90	15.3	0.74×Fewer than typical	639	$76,634	152
Religious organizations	48	8.2	1.47×More than typical	421	$18,247	—
Limited-service restaurants	45	7.7	0.96×About typical	1,029	$16,017	7
Construction of buildings	40	6.8	0.90×About typical	336	$62,634	137
Full-service restaurants	37	6.3	0.82×About typical	636	$18,401	3
Lessors of real estate	34	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	75	$39,853	351
Offices of physicians	34	5.8	0.89×About typical	242	$107,182	9
Truck transportation	34	5.8	1.14×About typical	358	$67,925	94
Building equipment contractors	33	5.6	0.93×About typical	296	$81,872	63
Automotive repair and maintenance	31	5.3	1.05×About typical	150	$40,040	76

Rank places for an industry Open Sandusky County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 58,734 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 $2.5M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ballville, Ohio: $642 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.5M; +926,333% vs FY2025
Per resident: $642; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration$2.5M99.8%
U.S. Coast Guard$5,7680.2%

Top recipients

SIERRA LOBO INC$2.5M99.8%
CANDI THOMAS$5,7680.2%

Spending by fiscal year

452.5FY2017
97.6KFY2018
52.8KFY2019
147.6KFY2020
188.1KFY2021
167.1KFY2022
39.3KFY2023
16.2KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$2.5M99.8%
Traveler accommodation · 7211$5,7680.2%

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 Ballville, Ohio, so they do not add up across cities.

Ballville, Ohio's figures are part of those of Sandusky County, OH ($77.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Sandusky 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.

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

House

Marcy KapturD-OH-9 · 100% of residentsWith party 89%Missed 3.4%

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.

Sandusky County55100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fremont, OH42

Other cities and towns in Sandusky 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/3903716

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends