Scores by category

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

Safety9#14,234/15,637
Economy63#5,834/15,631
Housing83#2,526/14,977
Health46#8,432/15,609
Healthcare41#9,276/15,650
Environment37#9,661/15,453
Education83#2,606/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,757/15,650
Community51#7,700/15,651
Leisure & amenities49#7,924/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high16.3 /10k
94/100Ohio 10.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAllen County value
Poverty rate · low3.2%
92/100Ohio 12.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Lack of reliable transportation · low5.5%
89/100Ohio 8.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Food insecurity · low8.7%
88/100Ohio 14.7%United States 15.6%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Average commute time · low18.0 min
87/100Ohio 23.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Poor or fair health · low13.7%
83/100Ohio 19.2%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Ohio 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationAllen County value
Comfortable days · low22.9%
7/100Ohio 23.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAllen County value
Unemployment rate · high9.3%
11/100Ohio 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Preventable hospital stays · high3,804 /100k
12/100Ohio 3,269 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAllen County value
Depression · high27.7%
14/100Ohio 26.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Violent crime rate · high438 /100k
14/100Ohio 276 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAllen County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
4,122 (2015-2019) → 3,859 (2020-2024)
−6.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
1.3 /1k (2021) → 3.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+138%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
46.7% (2015-2019) → 55.1% (2020-2024)
+8.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
1.4% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.7% (2015-2019) → 31.5% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.2× (2015-2019) → 2.8× (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Bluffton, Ohio improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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

Property tax−0.6 points1.20% → 0.63%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Bluffton, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.2 min2015-2019	18.0 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	62%
Bachelor's degree or higher	43.1%2015-2019	43.7%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Broadband subscriptions	88.1%2015-2019	89.8%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	1.20%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	94.8%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4112015-2019	0.4082020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	53%
Median household income	$74,3182015-2019	$75,6942020-2024	+1.9%	Within the margin of error	9%
Poverty rate	4.5%2015-2019	3.2%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.7%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent-burdened households	46.7%2015-2019	55.1%2020-2024	+8.4 points	Within the margin of error	28%

“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 Bluffton, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bluffton, 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, Bluffton, Ohio itself moved −7.2 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

3,859 residents (±322)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 women (−3.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,859 residents (±322)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

White86%3,332
Black3.0%†116
Hispanic or Latino2.3%†87
Asian2.1%†80
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races6.3%†244

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Other or two or more races (+5.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

2,350 residents (±220)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

No high school diploma2.4%†56
High school or GED27%625
Some college18%†417
Associate degree9.6%†226
Bachelor's degree22%†512
Graduate degree22%514

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,450 households (±157)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k13%†182
$25k–50k25%†356
$50k–75k12%†177
$75k–100k12%†169
$100k–150k26%†372
$150k–200k7.6%†110
$200k or more5.8%†84

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $75k–100k (−14.1 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,450 households (±157)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Own67%973
Rent33%477

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

432 households (±136)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $75045%†195
$750–1,00026%†114
$1,000–1,50016%†71

Home values

973 homes (±154)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $150k20%†194
$150k–250k45%†437
$250k–400k28%†269

Age of homes

1,559 homes (±146)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

2010 or later7.8%†122
2000–20097.3%†114
1980–199918%†279

Size of homes

1,559 homes (±146)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Studio3.3%†51
1 bedroom13%†209
2 bedrooms26%401

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,593 workers (±223)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone73%1,160
Carpool5.1%†82
Public transit0.0%0
Walk11%†173
Bike0.0%0
Work from home11%†178
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Walk (+7.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,415 workers (±213)

Bluffton, Ohio
Ohio share

Under 15 min41%584
15–29 min41%583
30–44 min11%†155

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Lima, 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 Allen County, the county holding most of Bluffton's residents.

Allen County has 2,239 employer establishments, 222 for every 10,000 residents (0.89× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Ohio's), with 44,251 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,858. The Census Bureau also counts 6,332 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,239; 6,332 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 222; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 44,251
Average annual pay: $52,858; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	178	17.7	0.96×About typical	4,490	$17,013	18
Ambulatory health care services	168	16.7	0.80×Fewer than typical	3,182	$68,499	292
Specialty trade contractors	126	12.5	0.81×About typical	1,514	$65,834	442
Religious organizations	104	10.3	1.86×More than typical	795	$22,562	—
Limited-service restaurants	96	9.5	1.19×About typical	2,409	$15,318	12
Automotive repair and maintenance	61	6.1	1.20×About typical	384	$43,487	95
Full-service restaurants	58	5.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,635	$21,020	6
Lessors of real estate	56	5.6	0.45×Fewer than typical	163	$34,301	727
Offices of physicians	53	5.3	0.81×About typical	947	$125,706	63
Services to buildings and dwellings	48	4.8	0.71×Fewer than typical	463	$29,054	433
Construction of buildings	45	4.5	0.59×Fewer than typical	256	$51,813	219
Clothing and accessories stores	42	4.2	1.15×About typical	458	$19,007	82

Rank places for an industry Open Allen County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 100,810 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 Bluffton, 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

3.6KFY2017
-1.2KFY2019

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

Bluffton, Ohio's figures are part of those of Allen County, OH and Hancock County, OH ($537.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Allen 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.

Bluffton, Ohio is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).