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Swanton, Ohio

Swanton is a small town of about 3,900 people in Fulton County, Ohio. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 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, Detroit, is about 68 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,866
down 0.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$172,700
Fulton County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$68,299
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Toledo area
91.5
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Wauseon, OH
To Detroit
68 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.5% below the U.S. average in the Toledo metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 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 Swanton 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 other. No public high school in town: the nearest is Aerospace & Natural Science Academy of Toledo, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byFulton County Health Center in Wauseon, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityDetroit is about 68 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 Swanton 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
$172,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Fulton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$906 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$68,299U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$2,114 a yearOhio: $2,822
Homes built before 1940
17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.5U.S. average = 100 (the Toledo 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Toledo metro area, not Swanton 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
3,8662020: 3,882
Median age
40.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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
Retail (24%); schools, health care and social services (24%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Fulton County Health Center, Wauseon, OH, about 13 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: University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH, about 14 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

3 public schools in Swanton, run by Swanton Local. The nearest public high school is Aerospace & Natural Science Academy of Toledo, about 3 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 cable, fiber or DSL internet
83%U.S.: 76%

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
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
19 a year
Nights at or below freezing
123 a year
Rain and melted snow
35 inches a year
Snow
37 inches a year
Elevation
666 feet

Weather station: Toledo Express Ap (4 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: Fulton County Health Center, Toledo, Detroit.

Fulton 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:

  • River Raisin National Battlefield Park34 miles
  • Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial56 miles

Read about Swanton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Swanton?

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

  • Ai, OH (unincorporated)618 people, 4 miles
  • Neapolis, OH (unincorporated)737 people, 7 miles
  • Metamora, OH548 people, 9 miles
  • Berkey, OH281 people, 9 miles
  • Lyons, OH581 people, 13 miles
  • Grand Rapids, OH931 people, 13 miles
  • Tontogany, OH390 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.