Village · Madison County, Ohio

Mount Sterling, Ohio

Mount Sterling is a village in Madison County, Ohio, part of the Columbus, OH metro area. It has 1,737 residents. Mount Sterling, Ohio has a quality-of-life score of 39 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,492 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Ohio it ranks #436 of 684 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), violent crime rate (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), comfortable days (low) and grocery stores (low).

39Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,492 of 15,651 cities and towns
Ohio: #436 of 684 in OH
Population: 1,737 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,029.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3953046

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety75#3,973/15,637
Economy52#7,545/15,631
Housing90#1,567/14,977
Health34#10,241/15,609
Healthcare27#11,353/15,650
Environment22#12,016/15,453
Education43#8,875/15,649
Infrastructure54#7,262/15,650
Community25#11,790/15,651
Leisure & amenities12#13,700/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Mount Sterling, Ohio ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Madison 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 as share of income · low22.7%
98/100Ohio 28.3%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Violent crime rate · low48 /100k
98/100Ohio 276 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMadison County value
Rent-burdened households · low21.7%
96/100Ohio 45.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.347
95/100Ohio 0.467United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Job growth · high2.3%
90/100Ohio -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMadison County value
Drought exposure · low2%
90/100Ohio 11%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMadison County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high31.4 /100k
3/100Ohio 15.5 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMadison County value
Comfortable days · low22.8%
6/100Ohio 23.4%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMadison County value
Grocery stores · low0.9 /10k
8/100Ohio 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMadison County value
Primary care physicians · low28 /100k
10/100Ohio 77 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMadison County value
Dentists · low29 /100k
10/100Ohio 66 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMadison County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Ohio 2.7 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,030 (2015-2019) → 1,737 (2020-2024)
−14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
5.2 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
39.3% (2015-2019) → 21.7% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,591 (2015-2019) → $72,692 (2020-2024)
+63%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
12.3% (2015-2019) → 19.4% (2020-2024)
+7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.6% (2015-2019) → 88.4% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Mount Sterling, 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

Household income+63%$44,591 → $72,692
Inequality−0.0550.402 → 0.347

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Mount Sterling, Ohio between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.3 min2015-2019	27.5 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Within the margin of error	69%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.3%2015-2019	19.4%2020-2024	+7.1 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Broadband subscriptions	81.6%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.12%2015-2019	0.91%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
High school diploma or higher	91.2%2015-2019	89.6%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	74%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4022015-2019	0.3472020-2024	−0.055	Improved	86%
Median household income	$44,5912015-2019	$72,6922020-2024	+63%	Improved	92%
Rent as share of income	24.2%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.2%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	11%

“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 Mount Sterling, Ohio five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mount Sterling, 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, Mount Sterling, Ohio itself moved +7.1 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,737 residents (±338)

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

664 households (±118)

Mount Sterling, Ohio
Ohio share

Under $25k13%†86
$25k–50k20%†134
$50k–75k19%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

664 households (±118)

Mount Sterling, Ohio
Ohio share

Own72%480
Rent28%†184

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+20.9 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

813 workers (±183)

Mount Sterling, Ohio
Ohio share

Drive alone79%640
Carpool12%†94
Public transit0.2%†2

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 Madison County, the county holding most of Mount Sterling's residents.

Madison County has 723 employer establishments, 162 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.75× Ohio's), with 18,238 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,743. The Census Bureau also counts 3,363 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 723; 3,363 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 162; US 248 · Ohio 216
Paid employees: 18,238
Average annual pay: $54,743; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	75	16.8	1.09×About typical	400	$55,503	346
Restaurants and other eating places	49	11	0.60×Fewer than typical	1,703	$19,602	14
Ambulatory health care services	38	8.5	0.41×Fewer than typical	210	$49,767	125
Religious organizations	38	8.5	1.54×More than typical	201	$19,801	—
Construction of buildings	35	7.8	1.04×About typical	140	$66,343	182
Truck transportation	31	7	1.37×More than typical	718	$67,557	88
Building equipment contractors	30	6.7	1.12×About typical	185	$59,103	50
Limited-service restaurants	27	6.1	0.75×Fewer than typical	1,223	$18,170	7
Lessors of real estate	24	5.4	0.44×Fewer than typical	51	$33,118	292
Services to buildings and dwellings	23	5.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	113	$53,611	273
Building finishing contractors	22	4.9	1.30×More than typical	107	$48,701	129
Landscaping services	20	4.5	1.28×More than typical	106	$54,557	80

Rank places for an industry Open Madison County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 44,591 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 $3,279 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Mount Sterling, Ohio: $1.89 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,279; +49% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.89; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; 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

Department of the Army$3,279100%

Top recipients

BRANNON CONTRACTING & MAINTENANCE SERVICES, LLC$2,51277%
ATLANTA GEAR WORKS, LLC$76723%

Spending by fiscal year

10.3KFY2017
17.4KFY2018
18.2KFY2019
2.8KFY2020
5.6KFY2021
3.6KFY2022
15.5KFY2023
7.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$2,51277%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$76723%

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 Mount Sterling, Ohio, so they do not add up across cities.

Mount Sterling, Ohio's figures are part of those of Madison County, OH ($131.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Madison 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.

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

House

Mike CareyR-OH-15 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 1.0%

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.

Madison County60100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Columbus, OH70

Other cities and towns in Madison 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/3953046

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends