Brought to you by: Cincinnati Better Business Bureau
INSIDE: 34 Top 10 Communities 37 Inside the Data 38 How We Did It 39 Top 75 Communities In our 14th annual Rating the Burbs feature, we look at our local communities to see how they stack up against each other. Where did your community fall in this year’s list?
Compiled by Bill Ferguson Jr.
1 Terrace Park
Terrace Park, ranking in the top five in three categories, took the top spot in this year’s Rating the Burbs. The village of 2,297 tallied its second No. 1 ranking (the other in 2013), led by a low crime rate (second in the area), a strong education system (Mariemont City Schools) and a high homeownership rate (94.4). Settlers began arriving in the area in the late 1700s, but it wasn’t until 1893 that the village incorporated. Terrace Park was the winter home of the popular touring John Robinson Circus until 1916; it became part of the American Circus Corp., which was bought by John Ringling in 1929. Terrace Park began an urban forestry initiative in the late 1890s with the planting of 1,600 trees, and its urban forester maintains a database of more than 3,300 street trees. 34
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Terrace Park
46 Education Chart 48 Crime Chart
Madeira
named for Gen. Daniel Morgan, an American Revolutionary War officer. The mostly rural community of 5,839 is located in the southwestern corner of Butler County on the state line with Indiana. Montgomery
6 Montgomery 2 Madeira
With high rankings across several categories, Madeira finished just behind Terrace Park in the No. 2 spot. The city of 9,219 residents is a regular top community in Rating the Burbs, finishing at No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 every year since 2010. Median home-sale prices soared 51 from five years earlier, to $347,450. Madeira City Schools provide a strong education for the city’s children, and crime remains low. More than 90 of Madeira’s land is zoned residential, and the Madeira Chamber of Commerce lists more than 120 retailers and service providers, offering shopping, dining and many services.
when its population reached 5,000 in the late 1960s but changed its official name to “City of The Village of Indian Hill”—has a police department, the Indian Hill Rangers, that dates to 1903 and helps maintain a relatively low crime rate. Indian Hill was settled as a farming community in 1795 and prospered as the Little Miami Railroad provided good transportation for its products.
Township 4 Milford (Butler County)
Milford Township improved its ranking this year to No. 4 from No. 9 last year. The Butler County township has placed in the Top 50 in all but two years since 2010 with a good school system (primarily the Talawanda City School District), a high median-home-sale gain (up 96 in 2019 to $241,500 from five years earlier) and a high rate of homeownership. The township expects to pave all public roads there this year after replacing all road signs in 2018-19 and upgrading the Somerville Fire Station.
Township 5 Morgan (Butler County)
3
The Village of Indian Hill
With one of the top school systems in the state and the highest homeownership rate in the area (98.7), the Village of Indian Hill made its eighth appearance in the Top 10 since 2010. The almost-20square-mile city—yes, it became a city
High homeownership (92.6), a low crime rate and good schools (primarily Ross Local School District) helped this Butler County community rank No. 5 this year. The township has placed in the Top 50 every year since 2011. Immigrants from Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, Wales, settled in the area in 1801, and the township began March 4, 1811, when county commissioners divided it from Ross Township. It is
Continued high homeownership and a strong education system were the primary reasons that Montgomery recorded its sixth straight year in the Top 10. The city’s median-home-sale price last year was up 33 to $447,500, compared with five years earlier. In the spring of 1795, six families from Orange County, New York, arrived as the first settlers in what became Montgomery. The 5.3-square-mile city of 10,805 offers eight parks with 96-plus acres of protected green space, playgrounds, ball fields, picnic shelters, a pool, and tennis, basketball and volleyball courts.
7 Hidden Valley Lake, Ind.
Located about 30 minutes west of downtown Cincinnati just across the OhioIndiana border, Hidden Valley Lake is a planned residential community that was originally designed as a weekend getaway. High homeownership (96, second in the area), good schools (primarily SunmanDearborn Community School Corporation, with a part in Lawrenceburg Community School Corporation) and low crime overall were the primary drivers behind the community making its first Top 10 appearance. The community is built around its 150-acre namesake deep-water lake, which has a marina, and six smaller lakes
8 Morrow
Residents in this Warren County village experienced strong gains in home-sale prices, low crime and a good education, placing Morrow in the Top 10 Greater Cincinnati communities for the first time. The median price for homes almost doubled to $204,450 from 2014 to 2019. The comw w w.
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munity’s crime rate was the third lowest, and the Little Miami Local School District was 18th among the 70 districts area wide. The 1.97-square-mile village of 1,312 residents is named for Jeremiah Morrow, the ninth governor of Ohio. A popular nearby destination is the Christmas Ranch, which opens in November with lights, shops, bonfires and train and wagon rides.
Clearcreek Township
Township 9 Clearcreek (Warren County)
Clearcreek Township registered its ninth appearance in 11 years in the Top 10, primarily behind a low crime rate, homeownership and strong schools (Springboro Community City Schools, along with the Wayne Local School District and the Lebanon City School District). The 44.7-square-mile township added almost 450 residents in 2018, the latest Census data available, and totaled 33,292. The township was created in 1815 from portions of Franklin and Wayne townships, two of the original four political subdivisions in Warren County, which itself was one of Ohio’s original 17 counties, according to the township’s website.
Township 10 Wayne (Warren County)
This Warren County township, which was No. 4 last year, dropped a few notches but remained in the Top 10. Wayne Township has appeared in the Top 50 all but one year since 2010. The 46.3-square-mile community is one of the original townships
in Warren County, created May 10, 1803, just nine days after the county started. The township has strong schools (primarily the Wayne Local School District) and relatively low crime. The Little Miami River flows through the township, and the Little Miami Scenic Trail passes through the township as well.
Honorable Mentions
Downtown Milford
The Honorable Mentions category shows
Evendale
communities that did not place among the
Milford
Top 75 Communities but did place in the top 25 in at least two categories among the 138
36
Norwood
communities of 1,000 or more population.
Oxford
This year, those communities are:
Woodlawn
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Pre-virus, Area Home Sales Kept Soaring; Terrace Park Moves to No. 1 Ranking By Bill Ferguson Jr.
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HIGHEST-PRICED BURBS, 2019 H n ia ed M le Sa e- e c om Pri 19
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et’s face it: Things have changed. Big time. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic earlier this year while the economic fallout continues. Because the data for the 2020 version of Rating the Burbs come from 2018 and 2019, the pandemic has no effect on this year’s rankings. Next year could be a different story. With the economy rolling along until March this year, red-hot home sales across Greater Cincinnati continued to push prices up. In 2019, median home-sale prices more than doubled in seven of the 138 communities of 1,000 or more population in the eight-county region, according to data collected from the three Realtors associations covering the area. Lincoln Heights led the list with a 352 gain in median price, going from $11,500 in 2014 to $52,000 in 2019. In Southwest Ohio, 25,751 closings were recorded in 2019, up 110 from the previous year. The median price was $184,000, up 6.36. Northern Kentucky reported 7,266 sales for 2019, down slightly from 7,339 in 2018, which was a record. The median price was $179,000, up 7.19. Only four communities experienced a drop in median prices in the five-year period. Seventy-four communities saw gains of one-third or more. Meanwhile, Terrace Park took the No. 1 position overall this year, placing among the top five spots in several categories. Madeira (last year’s No. 1), The Village of Indian Hill and two Butler County townships—Milford and Morgan—rounded out the Top 5. It was Terrace Park’s third time in the top spot since the ratings began in 2007. Terrace Park, with about 2,300 residents, is a quiet, walkable community in a good school system (Mariemont City School District). Last year, the village took advantage of a new state law allowing low-speed vehicles—primarily golf carts—to traverse its streets. The law allows communities to set up an inspection-and-licensing process for three- or four-wheeled vehicles to be driven on roads of up to 35 miles an hour.
With the exception of U.S. 50 (Wooster Pike), which runs through Terrace Park, all of the other 16 miles of roadway in the village (32 “lane miles”) have a speed limit of 25 miles an hour, Police Chief Gerald Hayhow says. Hayhow, who also serves as village administrator, says Terrace Park was among the first places in the state to pass an ordinance to allow such a process for low-speed vehicles. Terrace Park “is an ideal place to have them,” Hayhow says. “There are so many good reasons for t hem. K nock on wood, I never want to jinx it, but we have St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park yet to have a problem since we initiated this.” Hayhow worked with a might not be the main reason, but it was sign company and the Ohio Department the deciding factor.” He says grandparents of Transportation to design a low-speed- have moved to the area to be closer to their grandchildren and that the grandparents vehicle roadway safety sign. Hayhow says the village issued 88 per- enjoy carting around their grandkids. mits as of June 4 and that people are driving “Kids love it.” the carts to specific places or just riding Even though Terrace Park’s median around, enjoying the open-air aspect, home-sale price fell slightly in 2019 from and looking for relief from being cooped 2014, it still ranks as the second highest among all communities at $485,750, behind up by COVID-19. “We’ve had people who’ve moved here Indian Hill. The village consistently ranks for this,” Hayhow says, citing what he’s among the top three in safest communities, heard from people during inspections. “It with few incidents. n
1
The Village of Indian Hill
115
$1,015,000
2
Terrace Park
58
$485,750
3
Montgomery
152
$447,500
4
Symmes Township (Hamilton)
184
$386,500
5
Mason
445
$370,000
6
Mariemont
70
$357,250
7
Clearcreek Township (Warren)
144
$355,000
8
Madeira
180
$347,450
9
Amberley Village
52
$342,500
10
Turtlecreek Township (Warren)
174
$333,049
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Annual Data-Driven Project Ranks 130-plus Suburban Communities By Bill Ferguson Jr.
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reater Cincinnati communities all have their pluses. Each year, our Rating the Burbs project gathers thousands of data points to highlight some of those key positives. Cincy’s 14th annual Rating the Burbs project examined hundreds of spreadsheets and websites to gather data in various topics in determining the Top 50 Communities, 35 Top Public School Systems and 50 Safest Neighborhoods in the eight-county region. We start with U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Population Estimates Program, which update the 2010 decennial census annually. This year, most data were updated through 2018. More than 270 villages, cities, townships, Census County Divisions and Census
Designated Places are located in Boone, Butler, Campbell, Clermont, Dearborn, Hamilton, Kenton and Warren counties. A total of 138 jurisdictions of 1,000 or more population are included in this year’s Rating the Burbs survey. The Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati, the Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors and the Southeastern Indiana Board of Realtors provide median home-sale prices. For a few communities unavailable through those three organizations, sales are gathered from county auditors. Crime statistics are based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The FBI lists four categories of property crime and four categories of violent crime; the latest breakdown of numbers is from
2018. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so for areas not reporting to the bureau, we check community and state websites, and contact our county sheriffs’ offices and township, city and village police departments. County auditors, treasurers and property valuation administrators supply propertytax data; we break down the tax charts to individual localities and compare taxes in each area for a $100,000 house. Seventy school districts serve students in at least some part of the eight-county area, and we scoured state report cards, state education department websites and school district websites for data, and we also made public-records requests to the state departments of education themselves. n
City Again Registers Strong 5-Year Home-Price Gains By Bill Ferguson Jr.
ge an Ch e % om ar n H ice Ye ia Pr 5- ed le M Sa in
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The Evanston, Price Hill, Madisonville and Carthage neighborhoods in the city of Cincinnati all at least tripled in median home-sale prices from 2014 to 2019, leading a list in which all but one city area experienced gains in prices. Evanston far and away led the list with a 706 increase, based on a $130,000 median price last year, compared with $16,138 five years earlier, the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati (MLS) reported. MLS each year provides home sales for the city for our Rating the Burbs cover story/project. Most statistics that we use to evaluate the suburbs—all areas outside the city limits—are not readily available on the micro level for the 52 city neighborhoods. The MLS breakdown covers 38 areas, which do not correspond exactly to the 52 neighborhoods, but some areas are true neighborhoods. The pricier neighborhoods, such as Hyde Park ($398,000 last year), Mount Adams ($556,250) and Mount Lookout ($445,000) all gained, but not as much as other areas. The only area that declined was Walnut Hills, going from a median-sale price of $244,500 to $240,750, a 1.5 drop, in the five-year period. n
15 CITY AREAS WITH THE LARGEST PRICE GAINS FROM 2014 TO 2019
Evanston
90
$130,000
$16,138
705.55%
Price Hill
230
$71,345
$21,250
235.74%
Madisonville
164
$152,150
$46,000
230.76%
Carthage
30
$71,450
$22,150
222.57%
Kennedy Heights
67
$157,900
$55,000
187.09%
Mount Auburn
45
$222,000
$77,500
186.45%
Roselawn
39
$120,000
$42,000
185.71%
Avondale
63
$205,000
$72,404
183.13%
Fairmount
28
$16,250
$6,000
170.83%
Hartwell
33
$127,500
$48,500
162.89%
Bond Hill
70
$91,200
$35,000
160.57%
City
53
$375,000
$197,500
89.87%
Northside
153
$187,000
$99,000
88.89%
College Hill
139
$132,000
$70,000
88.57%
Covedale
135
$115,300
$65,000
77.38%
(Downtown / OTR / Pendleton / Queensgate / West End)
Source: Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati
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Morgan Township (Butler)
Montgomery
Hidden Valley Lake, Ind.
Morrow
Clearcreek Township (Warren)
Wayne Township (Warren)
Amberley Village
Fort Thomas, Ky.
Hamilton Township (Warren)
Union, Ky.
Wyoming
Oxford Township (Butler)
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Springboro
Milford Township (Butler)
4
18
The Village of Indian Hill
3
Villa Hills, Ky.
Madeira
2
17
Terrace Park
18
1
COMMUNITY
20
18,794
7,448
25,296
8,576
5,930
26,493
16,364
3,786
9,174
33,292
1,312
5,449
10,805
5,839
3,736
5,887
9,219
g
in
an k
R
2,297
ty
Sa fe n
tio
ul a
Po p
SAFETY
18
8
1
38
14
11
13
4
6
12
3
17
39
15
9
30
10
2
Talawanda (also Edgewood)
Springboro (also Franklin)
Kenton County
13
36
21
3
Wyoming (also Cincinnati, Finneytown, Winton Woods) Talawanda (also College Corner)
32
18
15
Boone County
Little Miami (also Goshen, Kings, Loveland)
Fort Thomas Independent
58
8
Wayne (also Clinton-Massie, Lebanon, Bellbrook-Sugarcreek, Xenia) Cincinnati
13
18
27
5
Springboro (also Lebanon, Wayne)
Little Miami
Sunman-Dearborn (also Lawrenceburg)
Sycamore
14
21
1
Indian Hill (also Cincinnati, Madeira, Mariemont, Sycamore)
2 4
H
Madeira (also Cincinnati, Indian Hill)
Ross (also Southwest)
HOUSING
OTHER
113
136
28
152
549
562
188
52
72
144
50
98
152
36
22
115
180
58
M
$307,000
$229,250
$205,600
$330,000
$300,000
$251,000
$221,200
$342,500
$207,450
$355,000
$204,450
$229,000
$447,500
$232,500
$241,500
$1,015,000
$347,450
$485,750
M
$239,500
$174,900
$137,750
$301,500
$252,529
$189,700
$170,000
$264,500
$190,000
$288,450
$106,000
$163,900
$337,250
$169,000
$123,000
$985,000
$230,000
$500,500
28.18%
31.07%
49.26%
9.45%
18.80%
32.31%
30.12%
29.49%
9.18%
23.07%
92.88%
39.72%
32.69%
37.57%
96.34%
3.05%
51.07%
-2.95%
32.17
$1,448$1,826
22.57 22.68
$1,428 $1,438$1,637
16.36
$1,360$1,464
25.90
$1,158$1,374
21.67
31.79
$1,381$1,985
$2,502$3,692
19.33
23.16
25.11
$1,653
$2,635
$1,148$1,793
23.86
21.84
$2,263$2,538
$1,524$1,795
32.21
$1,366$1,412
33.73
30.94
$1,438$1,650
$1,968
23.55
20.06
$1,577$2,435 $1,379$2,615
25.64
$1,749$3,002
C ONTINUED ON NE X T PAGE
82.45%
87.44%
36.59%
85.22%
95.07%
90.14%
70.24%
93.43%
83.34%
89.34%
70.95%
96.06%
88.74%
92.62%
86.93%
98.65%
90.75%
94.42%
20 20 18 19 to A om ed ed in 5-y O uc W ver P pe r w ia ia M ea es at ne 20 or ag r op ed r Pr n H Pr n H io k e S $ r 1 e S n -O 8 ol (in C 10 rt ic om ic om a l ia n % C R d e e c y e m om H an 0, T cu o H ha 20 e 20 e 20 in P ax 0 S S o m ut mu p ki r n 19 al 14 al 19 ie e 00 e ic m g es ng te d s e e e e e s )
Ed
Mariemont (also Indian Hill)
Pr im D ar is y tr S ic ch t( o s) ol
EDUCATION
THE TOP 75 COMMUNITIES
40
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Mason
Union Township (Warren)
Liberty Township (Butler)
Harrison Township (Hamilton)
Harlan Township (Warren)
Anderson Township (Hamilton)
Loveland
Washington Township (Warren)
Ross Township (Butler)
Blue Ash
Greenhills
Deer Park
Miami Township (Hamilton)
Mariemont
Edgewood, Ky.
Maineville
Jackson Township (Clermont)
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
3,097
1,090
8,733
3,464
16,079
5,663
3,593
12,274
8,885
3,042
13,107
44,081
5,247
15,863
39,639
5,276
33,586
g
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2,764
ty
Sa fe n
tio
ul a
Po p
Reily Township (Butler)
18
19
COMMUNITY
20
SAFETY
60
21
35
40
16
20
7
87
53
28
34
46
36
5
41
19
22
25
H
Kings, Lebanon (also Little Miami, Mason)
Clermont Northeastern, Williamsburg
39
18
36
Kenton County (also Erlanger-Elsmere Independent) Little Miami
2
40
25
62
5
14
26
7
Mariemont (also Cincinnati)
Three Rivers
Deer Park
Winton Woods
Sycamore (also Princeton)
Ross
Clinton-Massie, Little Miami (also Lebanon)
Loveland (also Little Miami, Sycamore)
11
18
Little Miami (also Blanchester, Clinton-Massie, Goshen) Forest Hills (also Cincinnati)
30
19
20
6
21
Southwest
Lakota
HOUSING
OTHER
(CONTINUED)
33
6
115
70
135
104
59
188
79
41
163
694
48
32
666
36
445
21
M
$195,000
$198,000
$229,000
$357,250
$255,000
$163,000
$135,000
$291,500
$249,900
$256,000
$230,000
$258,500
$223,398
$206,000
$300,000
$248,750
$370,000
$200,000
M
$81,750
$167,500
$180,000
$317,000
$190,500
$114,750
$70,500
$187,500
$182,450
$163,500
$180,000
$198,450
$158,500
$199,000
$250,000
$197,500
$313,740
$162,250
138.53%
18.21%
27.22%
12.70%
33.86%
42.05%
91.49%
55.47%
36.97%
56.57%
27.78%
30.26%
40.95%
3.52%
20.00%
25.95%
17.93%
23.27%
81.24%
75.31%
87.41%
62.47%
84.10%
65.28%
69.52%
72.49%
85.16%
79.74%
68.15%
84.28%
85.75%
77.32%
90.84%
83.41%
80.45%
92.04%
25.60
$1,805$1,962
26.51 32.19
$1,773 $1,250$1,408
22.04
22.07
$2,447$2,833 $1,382$1,685
27.17
20.52
20.44
$2,206
$2,842
$3,263
20.57
29.06
$1,091$1,767
$1,912$1,981
22.81
$1,877$2,605
31.88
25.34
$2,465$2,687
$1,471
36.33
26.75 $1,144$1,765
$1,614
26.88
24.80
$1,659$2,102
$1,883
27.10
$1,388
20 20 18 19 to A om ed ed in 5-y O uc W ver pe Pr w ia ia M ea es at ne 20 or ag r op ed r Pr n H Pr n H io k e S $ r 1 Sa ia % n -O 8 ol (in C 10 ert ic om ic om R n d e e c l C y e m om H an 0 c h H 20 e 20 e 20 T in up om Pr o a , a 0 S S ut mu ki 19 al 14 al 19 ie e 00 xe ic m ng es ng te d s e e e e e s )
Ed
Mason (also Kings, Lebanon)
Talawanda
Pr im D ar is y tr S ic ch t( o s) ol
EDUCATION
THE TOP 75 COMMUNITIES
Cold Spring, Ky. Salem Township (Warren) Delhi Township (Hamilton) Miami Township (Clermont) Alexandria, Ky. Lakeside Park, Ky. Goshen Township (Clermont) Symmes Township (Hamilton) Carlisle Waynesville Hanover Township (Butler) Independence, Ky. Fort Mitchell, Ky. Highland Heights, Ky. Turtlecreek Township (Warren) Glendale Wayne Township (Butler) Madison Township (Butler) Washington Township (Clermont) Newtown Monroe Township (Clermont) Green Township (Hamilton) Ryland Heights, Ky. Fairfax Deerfield Township (Warren) Franklin Township (Warren) Massie Township (Warren) Harrison Tate Township (Clermont) Williamsburg Township (Clermont) Trenton Cleves West Chester Township (Butler) Pierce Township (Clermont) Crosby Township (Hamilton) Lemon Township (Butler) Wayne Township (Clermont) Taylor Mill, Ky. Park Hills, Ky.
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 (tie) 45 (tie) 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 (tie) 71 (tie) 73 74 75
2,981
6,792
5,110
15,338
2,822
14,957
64,516
3,427
13,012
5,938
9,705
11,608
1,224
32,061
40,489
1,708
1,052
59,175
8,204
2,664
2,374
8,934
4,692
2,182
15,811
7,103
8,242
28,109
8,735
3,136
5,399
14,913
16,213
2,744
9,549
42,554
29,786
4,913
6,446
48
44
71
43
90
80
84
49
32
54
68
51
79
23
74
138
67
77
82
33
64
66
29
27
56
47
42
37
55
45
24
70
58
26
61
50
57
31
76
Kenton County
36
36
49
Blanchester, Clermont Northeastern (also Goshen) Kenton County
61
30
37
19
40
41
Middletown (also Monroe)
Southwest
New Richmond (also West Clermont)
Lakota (also Mason, Princeton)
Three Rivers (also Southwest)
Edgewood (also Madison)
26
22
Bethel-Tate (also Felicity-Franklin, New Richmond, Western Brown) Williamsburg (also Batavia)
30
Southwest
33
42
Franklin (also Carlisle, Middletown, Springboro) Clinton-Massie (also Wayne)
9
2
36
17
37
Kings, Mason (also Princeton)
Mariemont (also Cincinnati)
Kenton County
Oak Hills (also Cincinnati, Northwest)
New Richmond (also West Clermont)
11
48
Felicity-Franklin (also Bethel-Tate, New Richmond) Forest Hills
35
41
Madison (also Edgewood)
Edgewood (also Preble Shawnee)
54
28
Lebanon (also Little Miami, Mason, Middletown, Springboro) Princeton
24
9
36
21
8
29
4
31
36
Campbell County
Beechwood Independent (also Kenton County)
Kenton County
Talawanda (also Edgewood, Hamilton, Ross)
Wayne
Carlisle (also Franklin)
Indian Hill, Loveland, Sycamore
Goshen (also Little Miami, Loveland)
Kenton County (also Beechwood Independent)
24
16
Milford (also Clermont Northeastern, Goshen, Loveland) Campbell County
17
18
24
Oak Hills (also Cincinnati)
Little Miami (also Lebanon)
Campbell County
57
97
46
7
49
157
770
49
197
27
84
137
11
132
497
40
12
825
70
31
21
69
40
41
174
100
92
586
112
62
45
184
211
37
318
609
423
39
188
$237,500
$153,500
$165,500
$59,500
$261,000
$253,000
$270,000
$137,000
$163,500
$143,500
$148,700
$177,900
$225,000
$157,250
$317,000
$178,000
$158,500
$165,900
$188,205
$219,900
$140,000
$176,000
$175,750
$320,000
$333,049
$102,800
$252,250
$205,825
$179,950
$179,450
$179,900
$386,500
$183,000
$197,500
$211,950
$259,000
$142,900
$233,000
$168,000
$181,500
$140,000
$102,500
$42,150
$282,845
$182,000
$220,000
$94,000
$121,500
$101,000
$113,000
$136,750
$125,000
$126,500
$245,000
$105,000
$67,500
$127,000
$95,750
$280,000
$71,382
$124,400
$193,000
$259,900
$245,000
$79,500
$190,000
$153,500
$152,000
$147,750
$139,900
$351,250
$116,250
$148,000
$149,900
$207,450
$105,000
$190,000
$128,950
30.85%
9.64%
61.46%
41.16%
-7.72%
39.01%
22.73%
45.74%
34.57%
42.08%
31.59%
30.09%
80.00%
24.31%
29.39%
69.52%
134.81%
30.63%
96.56%
-21.46%
96.13%
41.48%
-8.94%
23.12%
35.94%
29.31%
32.76%
34.09%
18.39%
21.46%
28.59%
10.04%
57.42%
33.45%
41.39%
24.85%
36.10%
22.63%
30.28%
53.39%
66.50%
82.62%
75.62%
90.79%
83.05%
76.63%
69.29%
66.25%
64.97%
76.73%
72.93%
82.26%
69.37%
68.91%
75.03%
74.12%
82.25%
85.21%
65.45%
87.54%
87.04%
89.05%
86.10%
83.73%
59.85%
50.03%
82.68%
87.75%
65.19%
71.26%
71.51%
84.29%
67.20%
83.58%
83.07%
80.19%
79.89%
91.04%
24.26
$2,520$2,995
30.07 24.50
$1,642$2,231 $1,663$2,311
27.27 33.11 28.15 27.47 26.36 23.55 28.91
$1,873$2,014 $1,318$1,528 $1,409$1,700 $1,765$1,806 $2,080$2,506 $1,920$2,017 $1,531$1,859
19.87
22.34
$1,589$1,789 $1,340
33.73
25.49 $1,269$1,328
$1,912$2,135
25.94
29.50
$1,112$1,671
$1,762
22.64
24.58
$1,837$1,967 $1,420$2,016
20.83
$2,676$3,062
24.46
$2,084$2,559
31.29
34.34
$1,408$1,736
$1,462
26.89
$2,363$2,695
26.17
$1,539$1,641
39.59
35.24
$1,179$1,573
$1,140$1,350
21.67
28.89 $2,534
$1,450$2,047
19.10
21.68
$1,267$1,558 $1,638
28.25
29.51
$1,355$1,703 $1,602
23.02
$1,917
23.26
19.70
$1,440$1,731
$1,594$1,642
25.04
$1,425
25.73
28.69
$1,850$1,968
$1,560$2,208
22.90
$1,397
EDUCATION
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS l/
R
ng
g in at
i nd pe
r he ac Te
lS
e at St
pi s ol ho Sc
ed ag nt va ad is D r he ac y te r e ala ag s er Av ith w rs ve he bo ac A Te or r’s io te at R
pi
as M
Pu
Pu rPe
(Top 35 of 70) (2018 -19 data)
t en llm ro En
DISTRICT 1
Indian Hill
2,003
4
$15,686
A
12.29
91.3%
$79,884
5.0%
2
Mariemont
1,616
4
$12,786
A
13.36
83.0%
$73,204
10.5%
3
Wyoming
1,971
5
$11,989
A
14.39
75.0%
$78,242
7.0%
4
Madeira
1,475
3
$11,573
A
15.86
76.5%
$80,131
6.3%
5
Sycamore
5,399
7
$12,015
B
14.10
69.4%
$72,714
13.7%
6
Mason
10,096
5
$10,157
A
18.63
81.7%
$79,871
8.6%
7
Loveland
4,428
6
$10,689
B
17.57
86.5%
$78,248
13.1%
8
Wayne
1,389
3
$9,132
B
17.81
70.7%
$62,671
17.9%
9
Beechwood Independent, Ky.
1,384
3
$14,052
Elem (4 stars) / Middle (4) / High (5)
16.57
57.8%
$55,000
20.5%
10
Bellbrook-Sugarcreek
2,634
4
$9,834
B
17.68
73.8%
$70,622
13.4%
11
Forest Hills
7,262
9
$10,194
B
16.43
73.8%
$73,582
10.0%
12
Kings
4,703
6
$9,275
B
17.16
64.4%
$70,833
15.2%
13
Springboro Community City
5,832
6
$7,696
B
19.25
70.7%
$61,668
7.2%
14
Ross
2,598
4
$9,154
B
16.55
68.1%
$62,435
25.7%
15
Fort Thomas Independent, Ky.
3,057
5
$22,948
Elem (4 stars) / Middle (4) / High (4)
16.57
51.4%
$62,217
9.0%
16
Milford
6,345
8
$9,434
C
17.24
75.8%
$69,328
18.7%
17
Oak Hills
7,397
9
$8,820
B
16.81
80.5%
$71,775
21.2%
18
Little Miami
4,606
6
$9,183
B
16.45
58.6%
$56,325
17.6%
19
Lakota
15,603
20
$9,888
B
19.93
69.2%
$72,037
19.9%
20
Monroe
2,728
4
$7,678
B
17.83
57.4%
$54,720
25.1%
21
Talawanda
2,883
5
$11,068
C
15.17
65.0%
$67,512
33.3%
22
Bethel-Tate
1,498
4
$7,666
B
14.27
67.6%
$54,617
36.8%
23
Walton-Verona, Ky.
1,685
3
$14,626
Elem (3 stars) / Middle (3) / High (5)
16.05
56.9%
$51,658
42.1%
24
Campbell County, Ky.
4,735
8
$15,101
Elem (3 stars) / Middle (2) / High (3)
15.27
58.2%
$53,187
49.4%
25
Deer Park Community
1,217
2
$10,246
B
14.15
68.4%
$62,874
40.8%
26
Williamsburg
997
2
$7,801
C
16.08
75.5%
$63,524
39.7%
27
Sunman-Dearborn, Ind.
3,680
5
$9,196
B
18.04
58.7%
$56,214
23.6%
28
Lebanon
5,289
5
$8,368
B
18.96
60.1%
$64,028
20.9%
29
Carlisle
1,531
4
$10,473
C
15.78
68.7%
$61,096
31.7%
30
Southwest
3,619
6
$8,806
C
17.48
63.4%
$68,874
42.4%
31
Goshen
2,778
4
$8,823
C
15.97
70.9%
$63,342
52.0%
32
Boone County, Ky.
20,290
26
$14,612
Elem (3 stars) / Middle (3) / High (3)
15.28
61.6%
$54,749
40.4%
33
Clinton-Massie
1,650
3
$8,345
C
18.33
54.5%
$56,347
20.1%
34
Lawrenceburg, Ind.
2,077
4
$8,738
B
17.60
55.4%
$53,884
37.8%
35
Madison
1,445
3
$9,330
B
14.03
43.9%
$50,889
30.9%
N/A — Not available or not calculated. *About academic ratings: Ohio and Ketucky use different scoring systems to rank their schools, and the systems are weighted differently, so the states’ scores do not compare directly. Kentucky uses 100 as a top score; Ohio uses 120. Indiana did not publish scores for its A-to-F state ratings system in 2018-19. **About ACT and SAT averages: Ohio did not report ACT or SAT scores for 2018-19 on the School Report Cards. Through a publicrecords request, Cincy obtained scores from the Ohio Department of Education; however, the department provided only scores it received from ACT and the College Board (SAT). It said the scores were not for all students and should not be compared with previous years’ scores. SAT scores, but not ACT scores, were provided for Indian Hill and Princeton. Kentucky students take the ACT; some take the SAT, and the state does not report SAT scores.
46
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2019 BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program began in 1982 and honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools throughout the U.S. Recognition is based on schools’ overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups, demonstrating that all students can achieve at high levels. Schools are honored in one of two categories—Exemplary High Performing Schools or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools, each of which include several criteria. A total of 312 public and 50 private schools nationwide were honored in 2019. Each school was recognized at a November ceremony in Washington, D.C. The schools serve as models of achievement for schools throughout the U.S. Locally, three schools were selected: t #PZE & 4NJUI &MFNFOUBSZ 4DIPPM .JMGPSE &YFNQUFE 7JMMBHF +FS -FT 4U .JMGPSE t /PUSF %BNF "DBEFNZ %JPDFTF PG $PWJOHUPO )JMUPO %SJWF 1BSL )JMMT ,Z t 4U 5IPNBT 4DIPPM %JPDFTF PG $PWJOHUPO 4 'PSU 5IPNBT "WF 'PSU 5IPNBT ,Z Source: U.S. Department of Education
Information for the education chart was collected primarily from the 2018-19 Ohio School Report Cards, 201819 Kentucky School Report Cards, Indiana’s school-data reporting system and data available from the state departments of education websites or public-records requests. N/A means the data were not available, not calculated, not reported or not applicable. For academic ratings, Ohio uses 120 as a top score, and Kentucky uses 100. Indiana did not report academic-rating scores for 2018-19; instead, it issued an overall A-to-F grade for district corporations.
d ca
ic em
da an St rd s et M
ed ift G
rs ke Ta * * st * Te ve o P A ab r % r be o 3 um g N ting in or a or s cip * te rti ** Sc ua a st P ad s Te Gr ent P A s of tud n se % S na i as of Cl ** P * A 9) of -1 # 18 0 (2 * e* or Sc CT A e ag * er e* Av or Sc T SA e ag ) er (% Av e at R n io at du ra ) G (% e at R e nc ol da ho en sc ndtt A gh e hi ng lish of ssi ng % pa E e ol ts rs ho en ou sc ndud f-c st o gh e hi ng ath of ssi M % pa se r ts u o en f-c ud o g* st in at R
A
e at St 48.0%
23 out of 24
107.96
87.7%
90.7%
95.7%
98.1%
1221.74
N/A
36
82.3%
77.4%
23.6%
24 out of 25
107.391
91.0%
91.9%
95.2%
95.7%
N/A
23.83
24
63.4%
43.8%
41.2%
23 out of 24
105.901
93.8%
90.8%
95.7%
98.0%
N/A
26.60
35
87.4%
79.7%
42.2%
24 out of 24
109.171
89.9%
93.4%
96.1%
95.6%
N/A
24.93
22
84.9%
58.0%
40.6%
22 out of 24
105.731
90.2%
88.6%
95.9%
94.9%
N/A
23.99
43
60.3%
52.4%
35.3%
23 out of 24
104.54
90.2%
87.9%
95.9%
96.3%
N/A
24.25
42
78.1%
57.4%
32.5%
19 out of 25
101.111
86.2%
87.7%
95.4%
94.3%
N/A
22.78
26
46.8%
36.0%
31.5%
22 out of 24
105.221
98.3%
79.0%
96.0%
93.4%
N/A
20.8
16
17.6%
26.8%
19.6%
N/A
79.433
80.7%
82.5%
96.8%
99.0%
N/A
25.10
20
261
55.6%
31.9%
20 out of 24
102.553
87.7%
80.7%
96.1%
94.2%
N/A
22.43
18
32.1%
32.1%
26.1%
17 out of 25
100.806
79.3%
87.9%
95.3%
95.5%
N/A
22.82
54
65.7%
47.2%
24.5%
18 out of 24
100.688
90.5%
84.3%
95.3%
95.0%
N/A
21.43
28
39.3%
45.1%
36.5%
18 out of 24
100.353
81.4%
89.9%
96.9%
96.8%
N/A
22.91
26
40.2%
31.4%
23.5%
16 out of 24
98.452
85.7%
84.0%
95.4%
99.5%
N/A
20.05
13
27.3%
24.3%
15.0%
N/A
79.3
71.0%
76.0%
96.9%
99.2%
N/A
23.50
34
500
75.2%
24.6%
13 out of 25
96.933
70.9%
84.5%
95.0%
98.5%
N/A
21.34
46
54.9%
39.4%
18.6%
13 out of 24
96.424
76.3%
80.5%
93.6%
93.8%
N/A
19.29
41
53.3%
34.2%
23.4%
11 out of 24
96.018
84.6%
78.6%
95.7%
97.0%
N/A
20.25
10
31.6%
22.5%
37.5%
13 out of 24
97.117
76.3%
83.8%
95.7%
94.4%
N/A
21.11
53
40.2%
30.1%
16.2%
14 out of 24
97.182
78.2%
81.3%
95.0%
94.9%
N/A
19.32
3
39.9%
21.2%
23.2%
10 out of 24
93.634
77.4%
80.5%
94.4%
93.5%
N/A
20.54
9
32.3%
20.7%
19.0%
6 out of 24
91.139
71.9%
76.9%
94.4%
97.6%
N/A
18.22
0
7.5%
1.3%
12.2%
N/A
71.333
48.1%
62.7%
96.3%
95.3%
N/A
21
1
6
83.3%
15.9%
N/A
69.267
55.0%
60.1%
95.6%
97.2%
N/A
21.00
26
502
62.2%
16.3%
8 out of 24
90.689
64.5%
84.0%
93.3%
93.8%
N/A
18.31
10
28.2%
17.8%
9.1%
4 out of 24
90.805
72.8%
70.2%
94.3%
98.8%
N/A
18.43
6
29.4%
10.0%
8.5%
N/A
N/A
48.9%
74.1%
95.2%
96.5%
1090.3
22.00
13
25.5%
16.1%
22.2%
9 out of 24
92.746
72.7%
75.2%
95.5%
97.2%
N/A
20.26
16
49.8%
27.8%
16.1%
6 out of 24
91.047
68.4%
72.1%
95.3%
99.0%
N/A
18.54
2
9.3%
0.0%
16.1%
10 out of 24
95.007
61.0%
75.0%
93.9%
91.0%
N/A
18.49
22
40.2%
24.9%
24.3%
12 out of 24
93.568
57.3%
64.9%
94.2%
98.4%
N/A
19.15
13
27.8%
20.4%
11.0%
N/A
68.233
52.3%
55.6%
95.5%
94.1%
N/A
20.70
81
1,181
59.8%
24.8%
8 out of 24
92.234
73.4%
74.5%
95.3%
96.2%
N/A
19.31
0
0.3%
0.0%
16.7%
N/A
N/A
46.2%
69.2%
95.7%
93.8%
1096.2
22.00
1
4.9%
0.7%
16.9%
7 out of 24
92.06
90.8%
50.5%
94.9%
93.5%
N/A
18.07
2
13.2%
0.0%
***About Advanced Placement: Some schools have quit offering AP classes, replacing them with other dual-credit options. Kentucky provides numbers of students taking AP courses, not percentages of graduates. Indiana data are for school year 2016-17, the latest available. Data anomalies exist for some districts on Ohio report cards, and the Department of Education has indicated that some students could be taking Advanced Placement courses/tests even if a district has no AP classes. The number of AP classes are collected from test provider College Board. w w w.
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47
A ed at sa t
y
e
ul
ap
r be ob
as
R
R
on rs
e/ im cr p t po en 0 ol 0 Vi 10
v ra gg
Pr A
t ef th
ft he /t
ry
n tio
a gl
la
ur
e cl hi ve
y en rc
B
pu Po
(2018 statistics)
or ot M
La
18 20
COMMUNITY
t en lig r eg te nn gh no au sl & an r e/ de m im ur cr op M ty p er 00 op 10
CRIME SAFEST COMMUNITIES 1
Oxford Township (Butler)
25,296
7
17
1
0
0.988
0
0
0
1
0.040
2
Terrace Park
2,297
1
0
1
0
0.871
0
0
0
0
0.000
3
Morrow
1,312
1
2
0
0
2.287
0
0
0
0
0.000
4
Amberley Village
3,786
0
15
0
0
3.962
0
0
0
0
0.000
5
Harrison Township (Hamilton)
15,863
6
22
3
0
1.954
0
3
0
3
0.378
6
Wayne Township (Warren)
9,174
7
23
0
0
3.270
0
0
0
2
0.218
7
Greenhills
3,593
2
12
0
0
3.896
0
0
0
1
0.278
8
Villa Hills, Ky.
7,448
8
19
1
0
3.759
0
0
0
0
0.000
9
Milford Township (Butler)
3,736
2
9
1
0
3.212
0
1
0
0
0.268
10
Madeira
9,219
5
41
2
0
5.207
0
0
0
0
0.000
11
Hamilton Township (Warren)
26,493
8
74
9
1
3.473
0
6
0
5
0.415
12
Clearcreek Township (Warren)
33,292
20
100
1
0
3.635
0
0
1
22
0.691
13
Fort Thomas, Ky.
16,364
8
56
4
0
4.155
0
3
1
2
0.367
14
Union, Ky.
5,930
3
13
1
0
2.867
0
2
1
1
0.675
15
Morgan Township (Butler)
5,839
4
27
1
0
5.480
0
1
0
0
0.171
16
Miami Township (Hamilton)
16,079
14
62
7
2
5.286
0
0
1
0
0.062
17
Hidden Valley Lake, Ind.
5,449
1
24
0
0
4.588
1
2
0
0
0.551
18
Springboro
18,794
17
76
8
1
5.427
0
1
0
3
0.213
19
Union Township (Warren)
5,276
5
14
4
0
4.359
0
1
0
0
0.190
20
Deer Park
5,663
2
33
2
0
6.534
0
0
1
1
0.353
21
Maineville
1,090
1
2
0
0
2.752
0
0
0
2
1.835
22
Mason
33,586
21
235
8
0
7.860
0
1
2
3
0.179
23
Franklin Township (Warren)
32,061
25
79
14
0
3.680
0
13
0
16
0.905
Sources: FBI; state criminal justice departments; local police and sheriff’s departments
48
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A ed at lt
y
e
r be ob
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R ap
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(2018 statistics)
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18 20
COMMUNITY 24
Carlisle
5,399
6
13
4
0
4.260
0
0
1
3
0.741
25
Reily Township (Butler)
2,764
3
15
1
0
6.874
0
0
0
1
0.362
26
Lakeside Park, Ky.
2,744
4
15
1
0
7.289
0
0
0
0
0.000
27
Glendale
2,182
4
7
2
0
5.958
0
0
0
0
0.000
28
Washington Township (Warren)
3,042
1
10
3
0
4.602
0
1
0
2
0.986
29
Wayne Township (Butler)
4,692
6
26
1
0
7.033
0
1
0
0
0.213
30
The Village of Indian Hill
5,887
8
28
3
0
6.625
0
1
0
0
0.170
31
Salem Township (Warren)
4,913
5
13
2
0
4.071
0
2
0
3
1.018
32
Trenton
13,012
8
46
1
0
4.227
1
7
3
5
1.230
33
Newtown
2,664
2
24
1
0
10.135
0
0
0
0
0.000
34
Loveland
13,107
17
81
4
0
7.782
0
1
0
4
0.381
35
Edgewood, Ky.
8,733
6
54
1
0
6.985
0
3
2
1
0.687
36
Harlan Township (Warren)
5,247
5
17
3
0
4.765
0
3
0
2
0.953
37
Independence, Ky.
28,109
30
109
15
0
5.479
0
13
1
9
0.818
38
Wyoming
8,576
8
65
3
0
8.862
0
0
2
2
0.466
39
Montgomery
10,805
6
88
3
0
8.977
0
2
1
4
0.648
40
Mariemont
3,464
1
26
3
0
8.661
0
0
0
3
0.866
41
Liberty Township (Butler)
39,639
20
324
3
0
8.754
0
17
4
5
0.656
42
Fort Mitchell, Ky.
8,242
12
45
5
0
7.522
0
2
1
1
0.485
43
Lemon Township (Butler)
15,338
11
130
7
2
9.780
0
1
1
6
0.522
44
Taylor Mill, Ky.
6,792
6
37
8
0
7.509
0
2
1
1
0.589
45
Waynesville
3,136
3
23
1
0
8.610
0
1
1
0
0.638
46
Anderson Township (Hamilton)
44,081
49
282
30
1
8.212
0
14
4
17
0.794
47
Highland Heights, Ky.
7,103
16
47
3
0
9.292
0
1
1
0
0.282
48
Park Hills, Ky.
2,981
4
15
4
0
7.716
0
1
0
1
0.671
49
Cleves
3,427
0
32
6
0
11.088
0
1
0
0
0.292
50
Miami Township (Clermont)
42,554
48
392
8
0
10.528
0
13
3
18
0.799
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