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Dennison, Ohio

Dennison is a small town of about 2,700 people in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2 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, Pittsburgh, is about 71 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,665
down 1.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$102,700
Tuscarawas County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$51,992
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Ohio
88.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Twin City Medical Center
To Pittsburgh
71 mi
straight line

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 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 Dennison 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 town4 public schools: 3 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Claymont High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byTwin City Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 71 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 Dennison 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
$102,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Tuscarawas County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$840 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$51,992U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$995 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
46%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Ohio outside metro areas, not Dennison 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
2,6652020: 2,694
Median age
28.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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 (20%); manufacturing (17%); retail (17%)
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Twin City Medical Center, Dennison, OH, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Union Hospital, Dover, OH, about 11 miles away. 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

4 public schools in Dennison, run by Claymont City. The nearest public high school is Claymont 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
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%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
20°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
22 a year
Nights at or below freezing
139 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.6 inches a year
Snow
26 inches a year
Elevation
865 feet

Weather stations: Dennison Wtr Wks (1 mile away) and Cadiz (19 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: Canton, Pittsburgh.

Tuscarawas 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

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Pennsylvania Railroad Depot And Baggage Room. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • First Ladies National Historic Site28 miles
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park49 miles

Read about Dennison's history on Wikipedia.

Know Dennison?

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

  • Midvale, OH654 people, 3 miles
  • Barnhill, OH381 people, 4 miles
  • Roswell, OH209 people, 6 miles
  • Leesville, OH126 people, 7 miles
  • Bowerston, OH349 people, 8 miles
  • Sherrodsville, OH217 people, 8 miles
  • Tippecanoe, OH (unincorporated)144 people, 9 miles
  • Port Washington, OH548 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.