Living in De Graff, Ohio: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Ohio outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for De Graff itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 54 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 De Graff 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $183,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 26%Logan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $775 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $84,128U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 89%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,510 a yearOhio: $2,822
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Ohio outside metro areas)

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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Ohio outside metro areas, not De Graff 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: 1,2562020: 1,250
Median age: 28.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 32%U.S.: 22%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%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: Manufacturing (25%); schools, health care and social services (17%); construction (11%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mary Rutan Hospital, Bellefontaine, OH, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

2 public schools in De Graff, run by Riverside Local.

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 any internet subscription: 85%U.S.: 91%

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: 18°F
July average high: 83°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 8 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 127 a year
Rain and melted snow: 43.4 inches a year
Snow: 15 inches a year
Elevation: 1,007 feet

Weather stations: Bellefontaine (8 miles away) and Piqua (20 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

Mary Rutan HospitalEmergency room9

Springfield, OHCity of 58,00027

Columbus, OHMetro of 2.2 million54

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: Mary Rutan Hospital, Springfield, Columbus.

Logan County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park36 miles
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument42 miles

Read about De Graff's history on Wikipedia.

Know De Graff?

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

Bellefontaine, OH14,200 people, 9 miles
West Liberty, OH1,800 people, 9 miles
Russells Point, OH1,300 people, 11 miles
Jackson Center, OH1,400 people, 11 miles
Lakeview, OH1,200 people, 12 miles
St. Paris, OH1,900 people, 13 miles

Smaller places

Quincy, OH548 people, 3 miles
Rosewood, OH (unincorporated)362 people, 7 miles
Lewistown, OH (unincorporated)171 people, 8 miles
Port Jefferson, OH338 people, 9 miles
Huntsville, OH412 people, 11 miles
Valley Hi, OH229 people, 13 miles
Zanesfield, OH192 people, 13 miles
Chippewa Park, OH (unincorporated)617 people, 14 miles

Sources

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.