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Jefferson, Ohio

Jefferson is a small town of about 3,100 people in Ashtabula County, Ohio. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.8 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, Cleveland, is about 50 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
3,148
down 2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$200,300
Ashtabula County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$53,333
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Cleveland area
93.9
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Ashtabula, OH
To Cleveland
50 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.1% below the U.S. average in the Cleveland metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood5 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byAshtabula County Medical Center in Ashtabula, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCleveland is about 50 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 Jefferson 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
$200,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Ashtabula County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$963 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$53,333U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
77%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,564 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.9U.S. average = 100 (the Cleveland 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 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cleveland metro area, not Jefferson 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
3,1482020: 3,213
Median age
49.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
27%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%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
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%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: Ashtabula County Medical Center, Ashtabula, OH, about 10 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

3 public schools in Jefferson, run by Jefferson Area 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
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
80%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
19°F
July average high
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
7 a year
Nights at or below freezing
124 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.9 inches a year
Snow
90 inches a year
Elevation
961 feet

Weather stations: Ashtabula Co Ap (5 miles away) and Dorset (6 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: Ashtabula County Medical Center, Erie, Cleveland.

Ashtabula 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

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Joshua Reed Giddings Law Office and Ashtabula County Courthouse Group. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • James A. Garfield National Historic Site30 miles
  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park46 miles

Read about Jefferson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Jefferson?

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

  • Austinburg, OH (unincorporated)359 people, 5 miles
  • Rock Creek, OH655 people, 7 miles
  • Saybrook-on-the-Lake, OH (unincorporated)1,001 people, 11 miles
  • Kingsville, OH (unincorporated)566 people, 11 miles
  • Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH939 people, 12 miles
  • Andover, OH920 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.