Village · Morrow County, Ohio

Cardington, Ohio

Cardington is a village in Morrow County, Ohio, part of the Columbus, OH metro area. It has 1,928 residents. Cardington, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 39 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,599 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #444 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), violent crime rate (low) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on restaurants and bars (low), grocery stores (low) and dentists (low).

39Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,599 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #444 of 684 in OH
Population: 1,928 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 961.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 3912084

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety70#4,645/15,637
Economy44#8,769/15,631
Housing80#3,000/14,977
Health30#11,002/15,609
Healthcare32#10,658/15,650
Environment62#5,879/15,453
Education31#10,863/15,649
Infrastructure45#8,602/15,650
Community32#10,646/15,651
Leisure & amenities3#15,190/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cardington, Ohio ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Morrow 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 · low167 /100k
99/100Ohio 1,429 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMorrow County value
Violent crime rate · low69 /100k
94/100Ohio 276 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMorrow County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,776 /100k
92/100Ohio 3,269 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMorrow County value
Drought exposure · low2%
92/100Ohio 11%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMorrow County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.352
89/100Ohio 0.467United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Rent-burdened households · low33.9%
89/100Ohio 45.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Weaknesses

Restaurants and bars · low2.5 /10k
1/100Ohio 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMorrow County value
Grocery stores · low0.6 /10k
2/100Ohio 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMorrow County value
Dentists · low14 /100k
2/100Ohio 66 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMorrow County value
Pharmacies · low0.3 /10k
2/100Ohio 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMorrow County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low31.0%
2/100Ohio 84.2%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMorrow County value
Primary care physicians · low20 /100k
5/100Ohio 77 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMorrow County value

Trends

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

Median household incomeImproving
$34,394 (2015-2019) → $70,260 (2020-2024)
+104%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
25.4% (2015-2019) → 5.0% (2020-2024)
−20 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.7 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Poverty rateImproving
25.9% (2015-2019) → 10.3% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.5% (2015-2019) → 95.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
43.0% (2015-2019) → 33.9% (2020-2024)
−9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Cardington, Ohio improved on 3 of 12 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.

Improved3

Household income+104%$34,394 → $70,260
Poverty−16 points25.9% → 10.3%
Inequality−0.0850.437 → 0.352

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Cardington, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.3 min2015-2019	32.2 min2020-2024	+1.9 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.2%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	82.5%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Effective property tax rate	1.12%2015-2019	1.10%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	89.6%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	95%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4372015-2019	0.3522020-2024	−0.085	Improved	93%
Median household income	$34,3942015-2019	$70,2602020-2024	+104%	Improved	99%
Poverty rate	25.9%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	98%
Rent as share of income	27.9%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Rent-burdened households	43.0%2015-2019	33.9%2020-2024	−9.1 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.5%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	42%

“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 Cardington, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cardington, 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, Cardington, Ohio itself moved +15.9 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

1,928 residents (±327)

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

773 households (±155)

Cardington, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k15%†113
$25k–50k24%†187
$50k–75k16%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

773 households (±155)

Cardington, Ohio
Ohio share

Own69%534
Rent31%†239

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+20.3 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

1,059 workers (±197)

Cardington, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone83%883
Carpool5.1%†54
Public transit0.1%†1

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 Columbus, 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 Morrow County, the county holding most of Cardington's residents.

Morrow County has 456 employer establishments, 128 for every 10,000 residents (0.52× the US rate of 248; 0.59× Ohio's), with 4,510 paid employees at an average annual pay of $41,755. The Census Bureau also counts 3,030 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 456; 3,030 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 128; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 4,510
Average annual pay: $41,755; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	55	15.4	1.00×About typical	231	$62,108	453
Construction of buildings	35	9.8	1.30×More than typical	120	$42,375	224
Religious organizations	31	8.7	1.57×More than typical	128	$18,453	—
Restaurants and other eating places	25	7	0.38×Fewer than typical	416	$14,108	7
Ambulatory health care services	21	5.9	0.28×Fewer than typical	175	$50,406	88
Services to buildings and dwellings	21	5.9	0.87×About typical	71	$34,000	202
Building equipment contractors	20	5.6	0.93×About typical	66	$53,303	54
Truck transportation	19	5.3	1.06×About typical	116	$57,388	119
Gasoline stations	16	4.5	1.39×More than typical	170	$27,535	—
Limited-service restaurants	16	4.5	0.56×Fewer than typical	330	$14,085	—
Other specialty trade contractors	16	4.5	1.79×More than typical	79	$59,747	180
Landscaping services	14	3.9	1.12×About typical	29	$43,931	79

Rank places for an industry Open Morrow County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 35,614 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 $5,767 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cardington, Ohio: $2.99 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5,767; −43% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.99; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.5%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$5,767100%

Top recipients

MARENGO FABRICATED STEEL LTD$5,767100.0%

Spending by fiscal year

480.9FY2017
66.1FY2018
943.6FY2019
-630FY2020
1.1KFY2021
10.5KFY2022
9.1KFY2023
17.6KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Hardware manufacturing · 3325$5,17190%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$5088.8%
Other transportation equipment manufacturing · 3369$87.821.5%

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

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

See federal money in Morrow 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.

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

House

Jim JordanR-OH-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.3%

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.

Morrow County49100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Columbus, OH70

Other cities and towns in Morrow 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/3912084

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends