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Mount Sterling, Ohio

Mount Sterling is a small town of about 2,100 people in Madison County, Ohio. It has grown about 6% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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 24 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,051
up 5.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$197,200
Madison County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$72,692
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Columbus area
95.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
Washington Ch, OH
To Columbus
24 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 2.7 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 Mount Sterling 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Westfall High School, about 9 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAdena Fayette Medical Center in Washington Ch, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 24 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 Mount Sterling 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
$197,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Madison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$835 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$72,692U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,622 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
30%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
15%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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Columbus metro area, not Mount Sterling 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
2,0512020: 1,940
Median age
35 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
19%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%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 (18%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (16%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Adena Fayette Medical Center, Washington Ch, OH, about 14 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Madison Health, London, OH, about 16 miles away. 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

There are no public schools inside Mount Sterling itself. The nearest public high school is Westfall High School, about 9 miles away.

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 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
20°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
115 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.3 inches a year
Snow
20 inches a year
Elevation
908 feet

Weather stations: Washington Court House (15 miles away) and Sedalia (11 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: Adena Fayette Medical Center, Columbus.

Madison 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Mount Sterling Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Hopewell Culture National Historical Park26 miles
  • Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument33 miles
  • Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park42 miles

Read about Mount Sterling's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mount Sterling?

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

  • Derby, OH (unincorporated)435 people, 5 miles
  • Darbyville, OH189 people, 9 miles
  • Harrisburg, OH313 people, 9 miles
  • Orient, OH (unincorporated)288 people, 9 miles
  • Bloomingburg, OH856 people, 10 miles
  • Midway, OH270 people, 11 miles
  • New Holland, OH833 people, 11 miles
  • Darbydale, OH (unincorporated)737 people, 11 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.