Best PlacesSandusky County, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sandusky County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Sandusky County ranks 795th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Sandusky 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.
The best areas in Sandusky County
The parts of Sandusky County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Gibsonburg & Woodville
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and schools score higher.
Clyde & Bellevue
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer households have young kids.
Fremont
Streets are more walkable, though fewer residents vote.
Scores across Sandusky County run from about the 20th to the 94th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Sandusky County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Sandusky County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of counties
Where Sandusky County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of counties
- Cheap childcare$959 a month, better than only 20% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 22% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 25% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sandusky County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sandusky County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,247, 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 Sandusky County's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Sandusky County
Sandusky County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Sandusky County.
Who works in Sandusky County, and how
Work in Sandusky County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Sandusky County
Sandusky County has more parkland per resident than 71% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 74% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sandusky County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sandusky County growing, and who is moving in?
Sandusky County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Sandusky, OH.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sandusky County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sandusky County, month by month
Sandusky County sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 59° | 49° | 42° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 68° |
| October | 65° | 56° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Sandusky County
The nearest airport, Eugene F Kranz Toledo Express, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sandusky County
Schools across Sandusky County average a B, better than 80% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lakota Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- R C Waters Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Old Fort Elementary School Bettsville CampusA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mcpherson Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Woodmore Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Lakota Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Lakota High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Woodmore High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Old Fort High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sandusky County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sandusky 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 Sandusky County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Sandusky County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Sandusky County
Is Sandusky County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sandusky County ranks 795th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, fast internet, and cell coverage, and lowest on a weak job market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Sandusky County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $166,078. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $68,247 median income, cost of living beats 59% of counties.
Is Sandusky County safe?
Yes, Sandusky County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $300 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sandusky County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 23. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 49% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Sandusky County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Gibsonburg & Woodville, Clyde & Bellevue, and Fremont. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Sandusky County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sandusky County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sandusky 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.
Sandusky County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sandusky County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sandusky County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sandusky County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sandusky County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sandusky 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.