City · Defiance County, Ohio

Defiance, Ohio

Defiance is a city in Defiance County, Ohio, part of the Defiance, OH metro area. It has 17,276 residents. Defiance, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 46 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,513 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #365 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), social associations (high) and hospital quality rating (high). It ranks worst on pharmacies (low), preventable hospital stays (high) and child care cost burden (high).

46Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,513 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #365 of 684 in OH
Population: 17,276 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 1,342.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3921308

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.

Safety77#3,561/15,637
Economy24#11,884/15,631
Housing97#467/14,977
Health44#8,699/15,609
Healthcare47#8,283/15,650
Environment11#13,797/15,453
Education54#7,175/15,649
Infrastructure43#8,953/15,650
Community47#8,341/15,651
Leisure & amenities28#11,234/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low31.5%
98/100Ohio 45.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Social associations · high16.2 /10k
94/100Ohio 10.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDefiance County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.5
94/100Ohio 3.6United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDefiance County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Ohio 5.3 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataDefiance County value
Rent as share of income · low26.3%
92/100Ohio 28.3%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Average commute time · low18.2 min
91/100Ohio 23.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
7/100Ohio 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDefiance County value
Preventable hospital stays · high3,989 /100k
9/100Ohio 3,269 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDefiance County value
Child care cost burden · high39.2%
11/100Ohio 31.7%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDefiance County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Ohio 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationDefiance County value
New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Ohio 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauDefiance County value
Comfortable days · low23.6%
14/100Ohio 23.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDefiance County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 2.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+110%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.0% (2015-2019) → 31.5% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.4% (2015-2019) → 89.5% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
25.2% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$49,628 (2015-2019) → $61,439 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
18.0% (2015-2019) → 21.1% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Defiance, Ohio improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved4

Child poverty−12 points25.2% → 13.2%
Rent burden−14 points46.0% → 31.5%
Broadband+12 points77.4% → 89.5%
Household income+24%$49,628 → $61,439

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Defiance, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.6 min2015-2019	18.2 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.0%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	77.4%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Child poverty rate	25.2%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	85%
Effective property tax rate	1.31%2015-2019	1.13%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	53%
High school diploma or higher	89.4%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	79%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4532015-2019	0.4372020-2024	−0.015	Within the margin of error	64%
Median household income	$49,6282015-2019	$61,4392020-2024	+24%	Improved	41%
Poverty rate	15.0%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent-burdened households	46.0%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	−14 points	Improved	89%
Unemployment rate	5.4%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.3%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	59%

“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 Defiance, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Defiance, 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, Defiance, Ohio itself moved +7.9 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

17,276 residents (±664)

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

7,412 households (±357)

Defiance, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k16%1,218
$25k–50k25%1,838
$50k–75k16%1,150

Homes

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

Owners and renters

7,412 households (±357)

Defiance, Ohio
Ohio share

Own69%5,124
Rent31%2,288

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.9 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

8,231 workers (±518)

Defiance, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone83%6,828
Carpool7.5%†616
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 Defiance, 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 Defiance County, the county holding most of Defiance's residents.

Defiance County has 813 employer establishments, 212 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Ohio's), with 13,708 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,493. The Census Bureau also counts 2,378 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 813; 2,378 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 212; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 13,708
Average annual pay: $48,493; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	66	17.2	0.94×About typical	1,479	$16,705	12
Religious organizations	48	12.5	2.26×More than typical	236	$19,593	—
Ambulatory health care services	47	12.3	0.59×Fewer than typical	505	$74,244	73
Specialty trade contractors	43	11.2	0.73×Fewer than typical	229	$55,948	208
Limited-service restaurants	30	7.8	0.98×About typical	800	$14,695	6
Truck transportation	30	7.8	1.55×More than typical	637	$53,176	80
Full-service restaurants	27	7	0.92×About typical	545	$20,716	5
Lessors of real estate	26	6.8	0.55×Fewer than typical	73	$35,205	219
Automotive repair and maintenance	25	6.5	1.30×More than typical	74	$45,649	36
Banks and credit unions	20	5.2	1.62×More than typical	518	$64,191	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	20	5.2	1.19×About typical	89	$60,989	45
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	18	4.7	2.85×More than typical	355	$35,085	3

Rank places for an industry Open Defiance County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 38,301 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 $1,918 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Defiance, Ohio: $0.11 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,918; +183% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.11; US $1,994
Sole-source: 11%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$1,918100%

Top recipients

EHB SUPPLY$1,71589%
CHAS. D. WEST & CO$20311%

Spending by fiscal year

1.1MFY2017
2.1MFY2018
4MFY2019
4.8MFY2020
2.9MFY2021
62KFY2022
241.1KFY2023
-1.3MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other textile product mills · 3149$1,918100%

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

Defiance, Ohio's figures are part of those of Defiance County, OH ($30.7K in FY2026), never added to them: 6.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Defiance 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.

Defiance, 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.

Defiance County62100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Defiance, OH56

Other cities and towns in Defiance 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/3921308

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends