Village · Stark County, Ohio

Brewster, Ohio

Brewster is a village in Stark County, Ohio, part of the Canton-Massillon, OH metro area. It has 2,105 residents. Brewster, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 39 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,623 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #447 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on drought exposure (low), natural hazard risk (low) and new business applications (high). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), adult smoking (high) and depression (high).

39Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,623 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #447 of 684 in OH
Population: 2,105 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 919.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3908504

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.

Safety30#10,864/15,637
Economy49#7,929/15,631
Housing94#871/14,977
Health14#13,397/15,609
Healthcare65#5,410/15,650
Environment37#9,683/15,453
Education35#10,197/15,649
Infrastructure42#9,006/15,650
Community31#10,825/15,651
Leisure & amenities37#9,917/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drought exposure · low1%
93/100Ohio 11%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAStark County value
Natural hazard risk · low4.5
93/100Ohio 14.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyStark County value
New business applications · high19.9 /1k
89/100Ohio 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauStark County value
Unemployment rate · low1.4%
89/100Ohio 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low2.9%
86/100Ohio 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.377
84/100Ohio 0.467United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low9.1%
5/100Ohio 31.5%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Adult smoking · high20.7%
10/100Ohio 17.6%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Depression · high28.3%
11/100Ohio 26.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high21.0%
11/100Ohio 19.5%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Time spent in the emergency room · high218 min
13/100Ohio 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesStark County value
Loneliness · high37.7%
17/100Ohio 36.0%United States 33.2%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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 90.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
27.0% (2015-2019) → 19.9% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
7.6% (2015-2019) → 1.4% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
18.5% (2015-2019) → 12.6% (2020-2024)
−5.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,353 (2015-2019) → $57,192 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
6.3% (2015-2019) → 2.9% (2020-2024)
−3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Brewster, Ohio improved on 2 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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

Uninsured−3.4 points6.3% → 2.9%
Broadband+11 points79.4% → 90.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Brewster, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.1 min2015-2019	23.5 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	7.6%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Broadband subscriptions	79.4%2015-2019	90.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	62%
High school diploma or higher	89.1%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	64%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3652015-2019	0.3772020-2024	+0.013	Within the margin of error	39%
Median household income	$44,3532015-2019	$57,1922020-2024	+29%	Within the margin of error	53%
Poverty rate	13.1%2015-2019	10.0%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
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	2.9%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Improved	79%

“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 Brewster, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Brewster, 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, Brewster, Ohio itself moved −3.1 points in standing on average over the same 7 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

2,105 residents (±485)

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

798 households (±176)

Brewster, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k12%†94
$25k–50k27%†214
$50k–75k19%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

798 households (±176)

Brewster, Ohio
Ohio share

Own72%577
Rent28%†221

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

1,006 workers (±278)

Brewster, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone83%840
Carpool5.9%†59
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 Canton-Massillon, 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 Stark County, the county holding most of Brewster's residents.

Stark County has 8,181 employer establishments, 220 for every 10,000 residents (0.88× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Ohio's), with 139,706 paid employees at an average annual pay of $50,799. The Census Bureau also counts 29,520 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 8,181; 29,520 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 220; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 139,706
Average annual pay: $50,799; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	692	18.6	1.01×About typical	14,553	$19,675	129
Ambulatory health care services	633	17	0.82×About typical	10,294	$68,830	1,392
Specialty trade contractors	516	13.9	0.89×About typical	4,761	$72,507	2,364
Limited-service restaurants	363	9.7	1.22×About typical	6,998	$17,876	61
Services to buildings and dwellings	295	7.9	1.17×About typical	2,475	$37,712	1,811
Religious organizations	292	7.8	1.41×More than typical	2,285	$24,027	—
Lessors of real estate	258	6.9	0.56×Fewer than typical	886	$53,456	2,946
Full-service restaurants	240	6.4	0.84×About typical	6,281	$22,093	40
Construction of buildings	208	5.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,460	$76,571	835
Automotive repair and maintenance	199	5.3	1.06×About typical	1,230	$44,991	381
Offices of physicians	196	5.3	0.81×About typical	3,657	$113,275	202
Personal care services	183	4.9	1.03×About typical	821	$29,034	1,567

Rank places for an industry Open Stark County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 372,455 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 Brewster, 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

238.1KFY2018
220.9KFY2019

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

Brewster, Ohio's figures are part of those of Stark County, OH ($8.4M 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: Brewster is mostly in Stark County.

See federal money in Stark 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.

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

House

Senate

County

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

Stark County56100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Canton-Massillon, OH51

Other cities and towns in Stark 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/3908504

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends