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Lima, Ohio

Lima is a small city of about 35,000 people in Allen County, Ohio. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.3 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, Columbus, is about 79 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
34,695
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$107,200
Allen County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$46,240
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lima area
89.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mercy Health St. Ritas Medical Center
To Columbus
79 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.3% below the U.S. average in the Lima metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood294 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 8.5 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 30.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town20 public schools: 11 elementary, 4 middle and 5 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMercy Health St. Ritas Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 79 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 Lima 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
$107,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Allen County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$903 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$46,240U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
46%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,165 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.7U.S. average = 100 (the Lima 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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lima metro area, not Lima 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
34,6952020: 35,476
Median age
36.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%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 (20%); schools, health care and social services (18%); retail (15%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Health St. Ritas Medical Center, Lima, 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

20 public schools in Lima, run by Lima City and Shawnee Local.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Northwestern Ohio (1,000 to 4,999 students); James A. Rhodes State College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Ohio State University-Lima Campus (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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
121 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.2 inches a year
Snow
18 inches a year
Elevation
881 feet

Weather station: Lima Wwtp (1 mile 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: Springfield, Columbus.

Allen County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

27 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the West Market Street Boulevard Historic District.

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

Read about Lima's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lima?

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

  • Cairo, OH507 people, 6 miles
  • Westminster, OH (unincorporated)526 people, 8 miles
  • Gomer, OH (unincorporated)148 people, 8 miles
  • Lafayette, OH401 people, 9 miles
  • Beaverdam, OH311 people, 10 miles
  • Uniopolis, OH (unincorporated)166 people, 10 miles
  • Vaughnsville, OH (unincorporated)160 people, 10 miles
  • Harrod, OH426 people, 10 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.