Best PlacesSeneca County, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Seneca 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.
Seneca County ranks 876th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Seneca 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.
Seneca County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Seneca County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 86% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of counties
Where Seneca County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 19% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 25% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Seneca County
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Seneca County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,389, 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 Seneca County's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Seneca County
Seneca County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Seneca County.
Who works in Seneca County, and how
Work in Seneca 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 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Seneca County
Seneca County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Seneca County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Seneca County growing, and who is moving in?
Seneca County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Hancock County, OH.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Seneca County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Seneca County, month by month
Seneca County sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 29° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Seneca County
The nearest airport, Eugene F Kranz Toledo Express, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 73 miles away.
The best schools in and around Seneca County
Schools across Seneca County average a B+, better than 86% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Mohawk Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Buckeye Central Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Lakota Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buckeye Central Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Seneca East Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Mcpherson Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Hopewell-loudon Local High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Lakota High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- New Riegel High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Seneca County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Seneca 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 Seneca County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Seneca County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Seneca County
Is Seneca County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Seneca County ranks 876th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, fast internet, and good schools, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Seneca County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $151,112. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $68,389 median income, cost of living beats 46% of counties.
Is Seneca County safe?
Yes, Seneca County is safer than 68% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Seneca County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 21. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of counties.
Is Seneca County good for families?
Schools beat 86% of counties, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $764 a month.
Compare Seneca County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Seneca County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Seneca 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.
Seneca County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Seneca County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Seneca County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Seneca County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Seneca County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Seneca 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.