Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Ohio

Fort McKinley, Ohio

Fort McKinley is an unincorporated community of about 3,500 people in Montgomery County, Ohio, in the Dayton area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 1.3 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, Cincinnati, is about 48 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Dayton

Population
3,508
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$59,900
Montgomery County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$45,687
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Dayton area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Dayton, OH
To Cincinnati
48 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 7 elementary and 4 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMiami Valley Hospital in Dayton, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 48 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 Fort McKinley 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

Fort McKinley runs into the built-up area around Dayton (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
$59,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,049 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,687U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,393 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek 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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek metro area, not Fort McKinley 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
3,508The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
27.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
10%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%
College students
10%share of all residents

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 (16%); retail (15%)
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH, about 5 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

11 public schools in Fort McKinley, run by Dayton City and Klepinger Community School.

Colleges in or next to town: United Theological Seminary (under 1,000 students).

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
89%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
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
39 a year
Nights at or below freezing
107 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.6 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
958 feet

Weather station: Dayton Mcd (4 miles away). 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: Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, Cincinnati.

Montgomery County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, 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 Park3 miles
  • Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument20 miles
  • William Howard Taft National Historic Site49 miles

Campus life. Check United Theological Seminary's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Fort McKinley's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fort McKinley?

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

  • Drexel, OH (unincorporated)1,751 people, 5 miles
  • Brandt, OH (unincorporated)210 people, 11 miles
  • Phillipsburg, OH493 people, 11 miles
  • Crystal Lakes, OH (unincorporated)1,245 people, 13 miles
  • Medway, OH (unincorporated)580 people, 14 miles
  • Potsdam, OH233 people, 14 miles
  • Ludlow Falls, OH178 people, 14 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.