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Towns / Ohio

Bratenahl, Ohio

Bratenahl is a suburb of about 1,400 people in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in the Cleveland area. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Cleveland, is about 7 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Cleveland

Population
1,396
down 2.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$411,900
Cuyahoga County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$137,500
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Cleveland area
93.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Cleveland, OH
To Cleveland
7 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.1% below the U.S. average in the Cleveland metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 other. No public high school in town: the nearest is Collinwood High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byUh Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCleveland is about 7 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bratenahl meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Bratenahl runs into the built-up area around Cleveland (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$411,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Cuyahoga County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$137,500U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$7,209 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
33%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.9U.S. average = 100 (the Cleveland metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cleveland metro area, not Bratenahl alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,3962020: 1,430
Median age
60.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
41%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
10%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (35%); professional and business services (18%); finance, insurance and real estate (8%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
18%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Uh Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Bratenahl, run by Cleveland Municipal and Lake Erie College Preparatory School. The nearest public high school is Collinwood High School, about 2 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Ohio's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
84%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
24°F
July average high
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
9 a year
Nights at or below freezing
92 a year
Rain and melted snow
41 inches a year
Snow
64 inches a year
Elevation
609 feet

Weather stations: Cleveland Burke Ap (5 miles away) and Cleveland (16 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Uh Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park10 miles
  • James A. Garfield National Historic Site15 miles
  • First Ladies National Historic Site54 miles

Read about Bratenahl's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bratenahl?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Highland Hills, OH771 people, 9 miles
  • Cuyahoga Heights, OH552 people, 9 miles
  • Woodmere, OH706 people, 9 miles
  • North Randall, OH914 people, 9 miles
  • Lakeline, OH214 people, 11 miles
  • Hunting Valley, OH764 people, 11 miles
  • Linndale, OH108 people, 11 miles
  • Timberlake, OH602 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.