City · Highland County, Ohio

Hillsboro, Ohio

Hillsboro is a city in Highland County, Ohio. It has 6,527 residents. Hillsboro, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,916 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #601 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on drought exposure (low), job growth (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on restaurants and bars (low), comfortable days (low) and broadband subscriptions (low).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,916 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #601 of 684 in OH
Population: 6,527 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,192.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3935560

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.

Safety68#5,046/15,637
Economy16#13,104/15,631
Housing69#4,692/14,977
Health14#13,428/15,609
Healthcare25#11,733/15,650
Environment54#7,049/15,453
Education53#7,356/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,196/15,650
Community24#11,877/15,651
Leisure & amenities9#14,201/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Hillsboro, Ohio ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Highland 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 · low0%
98/100Ohio 11%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAHighland County value
Job growth · high2.7%
92/100Ohio -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHighland County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low113 min
91/100Ohio 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHighland County value
Property crime rate · low482 /100k
90/100Ohio 1,429 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHighland County value
Violent crime rate · low90 /100k
89/100Ohio 276 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHighland County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Ohio 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHighland County value

Weaknesses

Restaurants and bars · low3.2 /10k
2/100Ohio 8.2 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHighland County value
Comfortable days · low22.1%
4/100Ohio 23.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHighland County value
Broadband subscriptions · low80.3%
4/100Ohio 90.1%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Average weekly wage · low$897
5/100Ohio $1,313United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHighland County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low41.1%
6/100Ohio 84.2%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHighland County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.2 /10k
7/100Ohio 4.5 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyHighland County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
9.6 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
64.8% (2015-2019) → 80.3% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,095 (2015-2019) → $55,521 (2020-2024)
+73%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.2% (2015-2019) → 91.3% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Home price to income ratioImproving
3.3× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
−18%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
10.4% (2015-2019) → 7.2% (2020-2024)
−3.2 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, Hillsboro, Ohio improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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

Household income+73%$32,095 → $55,521
Broadband+16 points64.8% → 80.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Hillsboro, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.9 min2015-2019	22.6 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.7%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Broadband subscriptions	64.8%2015-2019	80.3%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	81%
Child poverty rate	28.8%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Effective property tax rate	1.01%2015-2019	0.82%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	56%
High school diploma or higher	84.2%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	−0.6×	Within the margin of error	95%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4812015-2019	0.4502020-2024	−0.031	Within the margin of error	74%
Median household income	$32,0952015-2019	$55,5212020-2024	+73%	Improved	95%
Poverty rate	23.8%2015-2019	21.7%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.5%2015-2019	30.4%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	48.6%2015-2019	50.9%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Unemployment rate	6.6%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.4%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	78%

“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 Hillsboro, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hillsboro, 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, Hillsboro, Ohio itself moved +9.3 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

6,527 residents (±23)

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

2,796 households (±210)

Hillsboro, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k35%967
$25k–50k11%†304
$50k–75k23%637

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,796 households (±210)

Hillsboro, Ohio
Ohio share

Own53%1,490
Rent47%1,306

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,759 workers (±344)

Hillsboro, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone82%2,252
Carpool12%†320
Public transit0.0%0

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 Highland County, the county holding most of Hillsboro's residents.

Highland County has 733 employer establishments, 168 for every 10,000 residents (0.68× the US rate of 248; 0.78× Ohio's), with 9,284 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,319. The Census Bureau also counts 3,214 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 733; 3,214 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 168; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 9,284
Average annual pay: $43,319; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	63	14.5	0.93×About typical	273	$59,974	437
Ambulatory health care services	57	13.1	0.63×Fewer than typical	502	$50,486	104
Restaurants and other eating places	54	12.4	0.68×Fewer than typical	1,235	$15,972	7
Religious organizations	38	8.7	1.57×More than typical	177	$23,011	—
Limited-service restaurants	32	7.4	0.92×About typical	848	$16,360	5
Other specialty trade contractors	25	5.7	2.29×More than typical	90	$64,744	155
Truck transportation	25	5.7	1.14×About typical	102	$51,804	123
Services to buildings and dwellings	22	5.1	0.75×Fewer than typical	146	$31,534	220
Gasoline stations	21	4.8	1.49×More than typical	192	$20,917	—
Lessors of real estate	21	4.8	0.39×Fewer than typical	35	$35,657	238
Automotive repair and maintenance	20	4.6	0.91×About typical	45	$43,933	78
Offices of physicians	19	4.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	110	$85,245	7

Rank places for an industry Open Highland County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 43,532 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 Hillsboro, Ohio: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
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

172.1KFY2017
-4.8KFY2018
224.5KFY2019
3.2KFY2020
243.7KFY2021
0FY2022
286.3FY2023
1.6KFY2025

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

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

See federal money in Highland 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.

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

House

David J. TaylorR-OH-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 0.0%

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.

Highland County35100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Highland 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/3935560

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends