Census-designated place · Clark County, Ohio

Crystal Lakes, Ohio

Crystal Lakes is a census-designated place in Clark County, Ohio, part of the Springfield, OH metro area. It has 1,245 residents. Crystal Lakes, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,109 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #658 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on income inequality (Gini index) (low), drought exposure (low) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on property crime rate (high), job growth (low) and violent crime rate (high).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,109 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #658 of 684 in OH
Population: 1,245 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 2,586.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3919596

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.

Safety4#15,068/15,637
Economy13#13,554/15,631
Housing93#1,121/14,977
Health12#13,743/15,609
Healthcare41#9,257/15,650
Environment29#10,976/15,453
Education15#13,322/15,649
Infrastructure46#8,387/15,650
Community30#10,951/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,304/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Crystal Lakes, Ohio ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Clark 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) · low0.324
92/100Ohio 0.467United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100Ohio 11%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAClark County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
87/100Ohio 3.0×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · low42.3%
81/100Ohio 45.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Ohio 3.6United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesClark County value
Natural hazard risk · low13.0
79/100Ohio 14.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencyClark County value

Weaknesses

Property crime rate · high2,607 /100k
4/100Ohio 1,429 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2022Federal Bureau of InvestigationClark County value
Job growth · low-4.0%
4/100Ohio -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataClark County value
Violent crime rate · high618 /100k
4/100Ohio 276 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2023Federal Bureau of InvestigationClark County value
Unemployment rate · high13.1%
4/100Ohio 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Math scores · low2.54
6/100Ohio 2.98United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClark County value
Injury deaths · high129 /100k
10/100Ohio 104 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClark County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,402 (2015-2019) → 1,245 (2020-2024)
−11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
61.7% (2015-2019) → 92.5% (2020-2024)
+31 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
11.3% (2015-2019) → 39.7% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
High school diploma or higherImproving
71.4% (2015-2019) → 93.2% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$33,627 (2015-2019) → $62,583 (2020-2024)
+86%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
19.2% (2015-2019) → 4.3% (2020-2024)
−15 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, Crystal Lakes, Ohio improved on 3 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 5 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

Inequality−0.1960.521 → 0.324
Broadband+31 points61.7% → 92.5%
Household income+86%$33,627 → $62,583

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Crystal Lakes, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.7 min2015-2019	33.2 min2020-2024	+11.5 min	Within the margin of error	1%
Broadband subscriptions	61.7%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+31 points	Improved	98%
Effective property tax rate	1.27%2015-2019	0.87%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%
High school diploma or higher	71.4%2015-2019	93.2%2020-2024	+22 points	Within the margin of error	100%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5212015-2019	0.3242020-2024	−0.196	Improved	100%
Median household income	$33,6272015-2019	$62,5832020-2024	+86%	Improved	97%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Crystal Lakes, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Crystal Lakes, 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.

No place that looked like Crystal Lakes, Ohio five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

For comparison, Crystal Lakes, Ohio itself moved +28.6 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

1,245 residents (±392)

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

468 households (±128)

Crystal Lakes, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k9.6%†45
$25k–50k28%†132
$50k–75k35%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

468 households (±128)

Crystal Lakes, Ohio
Ohio share

Own85%†398
Rent15%†70

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+21.6 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

392 workers (±131)

Crystal Lakes, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone66%†259
Carpool10%†40
Public transit

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 Springfield, 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 Clark County, the county holding most of Crystal Lakes's residents.

Clark County has 2,196 employer establishments, 162 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.75× Ohio's), with 42,831 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,894. The Census Bureau also counts 8,170 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,196; 8,170 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 162; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 42,831
Average annual pay: $46,894; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	197	14.6	0.79×Fewer than typical	4,370	$18,076	54
Ambulatory health care services	193	14.3	0.68×Fewer than typical	2,073	$65,956	345
Specialty trade contractors	136	10	0.65×Fewer than typical	840	$61,876	647
Limited-service restaurants	108	8	0.99×About typical	2,563	$17,198	26
Religious organizations	96	7.1	1.28×More than typical	462	$21,299	—
Lessors of real estate	78	5.8	0.47×Fewer than typical	239	$35,762	689
Full-service restaurants	66	4.9	0.63×Fewer than typical	1,613	$19,635	17
Truck transportation	64	4.7	0.94×About typical	1,308	$65,433	208
Offices of physicians	63	4.7	0.72×Fewer than typical	644	$104,660	47
Services to buildings and dwellings	60	4.4	0.66×Fewer than typical	729	$30,466	649
Building equipment contractors	56	4.1	0.69×Fewer than typical	345	$63,687	115
Automotive repair and maintenance	53	3.9	0.78×Fewer than typical	405	$41,373	98

Rank places for an industry Open Clark County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 135,342 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 Crystal Lakes, 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

50.1FY2019

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 Crystal Lakes, Ohio, so they do not add up across cities.

Crystal Lakes, Ohio's figures are part of those of Clark County, OH ($12.3M 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: Crystal Lakes is mostly in Clark County.

See federal money in Clark 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.

Crystal Lakes, 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.

Clark County30100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Springfield, OH23

Other cities and towns in Clark 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/3919596

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends