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Hanover, Ohio

Hanover is a small town of about 1,400 people in Licking County, Ohio. It has grown about 10% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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, Columbus, is about 38 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,397
up 9.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$237,300
Licking County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$83,393
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Columbus area
95.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Newark, OH
To Columbus
38 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.5% below the U.S. average in the Columbus metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 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 Hanover 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLicking Memorial Hospital in Newark, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 38 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 Hanover 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
$237,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Licking County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$887 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$83,393U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
77%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,316 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
21%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.5U.S. average = 100 (the Columbus 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 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Columbus metro area, not Hanover 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
1,3972020: 1,272
Median age
40.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%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
Retail (15%); manufacturing (15%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%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: Licking Memorial Hospital, Newark, OH, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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 Hanover, run by Licking Valley 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%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
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
13 a year
Nights at or below freezing
129 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.4 inches a year
Snow
15 inches a year
Elevation
808 feet

Weather station: Newark Wtr Wks (7 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: Licking Memorial Hospital, Newark, Columbus.

Licking 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

Read about Hanover's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hanover?

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

  • Marne, OH (unincorporated)416 people, 1 mile
  • Nashport, OH (unincorporated)206 people, 6 miles
  • Gratiot, OH217 people, 10 miles
  • St. Louisville, OH359 people, 10 miles
  • Brownsville, OH (unincorporated)216 people, 10 miles
  • Jacksontown, OH (unincorporated)276 people, 11 miles
  • Harbor Hills, OH (unincorporated)1,555 people, 13 miles
  • Martinsburg, OH222 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.