Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Ohio

Moraine, Ohio

Moraine is a suburb of about 6,600 people in Montgomery County, Ohio, in the Dayton area. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 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 41 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Dayton

Population
6,627
up 3.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$156,800
Montgomery County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$48,788
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Dayton area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Kettering, OH
To Cincinnati
41 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 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood44 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 48.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byKettering Health Main Campus in Kettering, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCincinnati is about 41 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 Moraine 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

Moraine 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
$156,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,035 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,788U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,380 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%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 Moraine 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
6,6272020: 6,430
Median age
33.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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
Schools, health care and social services (24%); manufacturing (23%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Kettering Health Main Campus, Kettering, OH, about 3 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

8 public schools in Moraine, run by West Carrollton City and Kettering City School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Kettering College (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
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
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
833 feet

Weather station: Dayton Mcd (5 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: Kettering Health Main Campus, Kettering, 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 Monument18 miles
  • William Howard Taft National Historic Site42 miles

Campus life. Check Kettering College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Moraine's history on Wikipedia.

Know Moraine?

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, 4 miles
  • Five Points, OH (unincorporated)2,031 people, 10 miles
  • Spring Valley, OH427 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.