Towns / Ohio

Steubenville, Ohio

Steubenville is a small town of about 17,900 people in Jefferson County, Ohio. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady 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, Pittsburgh, is about 36 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
17,922
down 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$130,700
Jefferson County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$48,172
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Weirton area
89
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Trinity Medical Ctr East &trinity Medical Ctr West
To Pittsburgh
36 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11% below the U.S. average in the Weirton-Steubenville 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 neighborhood15 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 27.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 5 elementary, 3 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byTrinity Medical Ctr East &trinity Medical Ctr West is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 36 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 Steubenville 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
$130,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Jefferson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$775 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,172U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,209 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
26%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89U.S. average = 100 (the Weirton-Steubenville 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 Weirton-Steubenville metro area, not Steubenville 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
17,9222020: 18,134
Median age
35.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
30%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
15%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 (31%); retail (15%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Trinity Medical Ctr East &trinity Medical Ctr West, Steubenville, OH, in town. 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

9 public schools in Steubenville, run by Steubenville City and Indian Creek Local.

Colleges in or next to town: Eastern Gateway Community College (10,000 to 19,999 students); Franciscan University of Steubenville (1,000 to 4,999 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
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
116 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.6 inches a year
Snow
26 inches a year
Elevation
1,177 feet

Weather stations: Steubenville (2 miles away) and Cadiz (19 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: Pittsburgh.

Jefferson 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

12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the North End Neighborhood Historic District, the Steubenville Commercial Historic District, the Steubenville Institutional and Ecclesiastical Historic District and Union Cemetery-Beatty Park.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • First Ladies National Historic Site48 miles
  • Friendship Hill National Historic Site55 miles

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

Read about Steubenville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Steubenville?

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

  • Pottery Addition, OH (unincorporated)110 people, 3 miles
  • New Alexandria, OH224 people, 5 miles
  • Hooverson Heights, WV (unincorporated)2,090 people, 5 miles
  • Colliers, WV (unincorporated)117 people, 6 miles
  • Brilliant, OH (unincorporated)1,213 people, 7 miles
  • Richmond, OH397 people, 8 miles
  • Paris, PA (unincorporated)652 people, 8 miles
  • Bloomingdale, OH133 people, 9 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.