Living in Fruit Hill, Ohio: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.6% below the U.S. average in the Cincinnati metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 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 town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMercy Health-Anderson Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 9 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 Fruit Hill 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

Fruit Hill runs into the built-up area around Cincinnati (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: $271,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Hamilton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $107,254U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 96%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $5,214 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940: 12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 95.4U.S. average = 100 (the Cincinnati 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cincinnati metro area, not Fruit Hill 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: 4,200The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 36.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 67%U.S.: 36%
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: Schools, health care and social services (24%); professional and business services (22%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 7%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, in town. 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

3 public schools in Fruit Hill, run by Forest Hills Local.

Colleges in or next to town: Athenaeum of Ohio (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 cable, fiber or DSL internet: 91%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: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 27 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 102 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.2 inches a year
Snow: 16 inches a year
Elevation: 772 feet

Weather stations: Cincinnati Lunken Ap (4 miles away) and Cheviot (15 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

Cincinnati, OHMetro of 2.3 million9

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: Cincinnati.

Hamilton 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

William Howard Taft National Historic Site8 miles
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park46 miles
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument51 miles

Campus life. Check Athenaeum of Ohio's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Fruit Hill's history on Wikipedia.

Know Fruit Hill?

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

Salem Heights, OH3,600 people, 1 miles
Sherwood, OH3,800 people, 1 miles
Forestville, OH10,800 people, 2 miles
Cherry Grove, OH4,200 people, 3 miles
Turpin Hills, OH4,900 people, 3 miles
Silver Grove, KY1,300 people, 3 miles

Smaller places

Coldstream, OH (unincorporated)1,540 people, 2 miles
Melbourne, KY491 people, 3 miles
Crestview, KY475 people, 4 miles
Plainville, OH (unincorporated)100 people, 5 miles
Woodlawn, KY230 people, 6 miles
Madison Place, OH (unincorporated)815 people, 6 miles
Ryland Heights, KY951 people, 7 miles
Fairview, KY140 people, 8 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.