Best PlacesDefiance County, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Defiance County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Defiance County ranks 525th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Defiance County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Defiance County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Defiance County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of counties
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of counties
- Short commute19.9 minutes each way, better than 79% of counties
Where Defiance County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 8% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 25% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 25% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Defiance County
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Defiance County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,391, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Defiance County's effective rate of 1.09%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Defiance County
Defiance County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Defiance County.
Who works in Defiance County, and how
Work in Defiance County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Defiance County
Defiance County has more parkland per resident than 72% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Defiance County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Defiance County growing, and who is moving in?
Defiance County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Paulding County, OH.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Defiance County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Defiance County, month by month
Defiance County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 20° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Defiance County
The nearest airport, Eugene F Kranz Toledo Express, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around Defiance County
Schools across Defiance County average an A−, better than 93% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ayersville Elementary SchoolA+ · 79% proficient
- Hicksville Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Tinora Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairview Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Tinora Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Defiance Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Hicksville High SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Ayersville High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Tinora High SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Defiance County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Defiance County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Defiance County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Defiance County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Defiance County
Is Defiance County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Defiance County ranks 525th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, fast internet, and good schools, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Defiance County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $169,101. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $76,391 median income, cost of living beats 67% of counties.
Is Defiance County safe?
Yes, Defiance County is safer than 77% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Defiance County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 20. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
Is Defiance County good for families?
Schools beat 93% of counties, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare Defiance County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Defiance County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Defiance County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Defiance County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Defiance County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Defiance County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Defiance County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Defiance County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Defiance County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.