We used science to determine which Buckeye State cities are the real pits.

Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2019. This is our fifth time ranking the worst places to live in Ohio.

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O-H-I-Oh no!

The last time we talked about the state of Ohio, it was a happier time. We went over all of the Buckeye State’s charms. We talked about the grittiness of the folks in the bigger cities and the warm, friendly people in Ohio’s smaller towns.

But today, we’re going in the opposite direction. Because, like in any other state in America, there are bad places just like there are good places. And today, we’re going to address the worst of Ohio’s cities and towns.

So, Who Dey?

After analyzing all 251 cities with a population over 5,000, we came up with this list as the 10 worst places in Ohio:

What? Where are these places you wonder? And before you get all riled up and say we’re picking on small town America, that’s not the case.

We understand there’s a lot of good in every place.

However, according to data (which doesn’t measure things like beauty and ‘friendly people’), there are far better options in the state for making a place home. And the worst place to live in Ohio? That would be Trotwood.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and see how your city fared in 2019.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

For more Ohio reading, check out:

How we determined the worst places to live in Ohio for 2019

To figure out how bad a place is to live in, we only needed to know what kinds of things people like and then decide what cities have the least amount of those things.

We don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that people like the following things:

Good education

Lots of jobs

Low crime

Low poverty

Nice homes

High incomes

High population density (Lots of things to do)

Short work commutes

Health insurance

The data comes from the Census’s most recent American Community Survey and from the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

We broke crime down into violent crime and property crime to give violent crime a larger weight — if you did a simple calculation of all crimes per capita, property crimes are normally 7x more common and really bias that ranking.

Furthermore, only cities with at least 5,000 people were considered — leaving 251 cities.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 251 for all the criteria with a #1 ranking being the worst for the particular criteria.

Next, we averaged the rankings into one “Worst Place To Live Score”.

Finally, we ranked every city on the “Worst Place To Live Score” with the lowest score being the worst city in Ohio — Trotwood. Read on for a detailed look at the 10 worst cities in Ohio.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility 3

/10 Population: 24,348

Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)

Median Home Value: $73,200 (19th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 12.9% (10th worst)

More on Trotwood: Data | Photos

Say what you want about how beautiful Trotwood might be. The fact is that the economy here is one of the worst in the state.

The unemployment rate rankss 10th highest in the state at 12.9%. Homes are the 19th lowest priced ($73,200), and the median income per household is just a tad over $32,977.

The fact is most of the people who live here are having a hard time making ends meet, when you consider their earned incomes and lack of jobs.

Overall SnackAbility 5

/10 Population: 5,626

Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)

Median Home Value: $92,400 (59th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (35th worst)

More on New Carlisle: Data | Photos

When you’re looking at science and data, New Carlisle is the worst place you can live in Ohio. Let’s see why.

The unemployment rate here is 10.1%. The schools are underfunded, and property values are well below the state average. A home costs $92,400, which is a sure sign of lack of demand.

You have a 1 in 14.8 chance of being the victim of some type of property crime here every year. That’s not fun, either.

New Carlisle is a far drive south from Louisville.

Overall SnackAbility 3

/10 Population: 388,812

Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)

Median Home Value: $67,600 (9th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 16.0% (4th worst)

More on Cleveland: Data | Photos

Cleveland is a hot mess right now. There are some big economic problems here AND crime is really high. In fact, Cleveland is the 19th most dangerous place you can live in Ohio.

Residents in Cleveland have a 1 in 20.5 chance of being the victim of a property crime. That’s a lot of stolen laptops, cell phones and sunglasses.

When you’re considering home prices, you can’t do much lower than in Cleveland, where average homes are valued at only$67,600. That’s the 9th-lowest in the state. But residents earn far less than in other cities, so their mortgage payments might still seem overwhelming.

Review Of Cleveland by by HomeSnacks User I stayed in Cleveland, Ohio for about 2 months because I was currently staying with a friend at his house and during that time I would have to say it was the worst of my life. The crime rate is high and horrible and everyday I would hear gunshots in the neighborhood and people fighting one another. Also, the homes are run down and it is just a city that is dominated by violence and poverty. I will always stay away from this place. To be honest, my whole time spent there was horrible from the violence to seeing nothing but run down homes. It was just a bad experience overall and I see why no one travels there. Review Where You Live

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility 4

/10 Population: 5,560

Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)

Median Home Value: $82,600 (40th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 18.3% (2nd worst)

More on Wellston: Data | Photos

Wellston is the smallest city to make the top of this list. It’s right next door to Jackson, and it has some of the same issues with ‘things to do’ as Jackson does.

It’s just generally lousy in Wellston. It doesn’t really stand out as being really bad in any category outside of the fact that its residents earn low salaries ($38,293). The schools and the crime are far below average, but not horrible.

Overall SnackAbility 5

/10 Population: 46,720

Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 7)

Median Home Value: $77,000 (23rd worst)

Unemployment Rate: 10.6% (28th worst)

More on Mansfield: Data | Photos

Now we can get to some actual cities that might have some normal numbers. In this case, Mansfield ranks high mainly due to the low economic numbers. Homes are the 23rd cheapest in the state here at $77,000. Say what you want about low cost of living. What the data says is that cheaper homes means less demand. And there isn’t a lot of demand to live in Mansfield.

The median income levels here are the 25th lowest in the state of Ohio, at $34,219. Crime is above average, but not horrible like some of the cities we’ll talk about in a minute. And almost 10.6% of people in Mansfield were without jobs according to the latest numbers.

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility 4

/10 Population: 48,350

Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)

Median Home Value: $93,800 (64th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 10.8% (24th worst)

More on Middletown: Data | Photos

The same problems that plague other cities on the list also affect Middletown. The only real difference is Middletown is a tiny bit safer, and the schools are rated a lot higher in terms of resources for students.

However, the unemployment rate in Middletown is at 10.8%, which is the 24th worst in Ohio. And households earn a combined $39,116 a year, which is far below the state average. An average home in Middletown is merely $93,800.

Middletown is across the Tangier Sound on Route 50.

Review Of Middletown by by talkingdear Hahaha! I live in Middletown and our river stinks like s**t Review Where You Live

Overall SnackAbility 3

/10 Population: 5,005

Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 7)

Median Home Value: $72,600 (18th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 13.4% (7th worst)

More on Nelsonville: Data | Photos

The city of Nelsonville is the 7th worst place you can live in the state of Ohio in 2019.

It’s unlucky for Nelsonville, which has the 7th highest unemployment rate (13.4%), the 3rd lowest household incomes ($26,139) and the 18th lowest home prices in the state ($72,600).

Basically, a lot of people in Nelsonville are out of work. And crime is certainly a factor here as well. Although it’s not one of the most dangerous places we’ll look at, it’s in the top 20%.

Add it all up, and this is truly one of the worst places you could live in Ohio.

Overall SnackAbility 3

/10 Population: 140,939

Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 1)

Median Home Value: $66,500 (8th worst)

Unemployment Rate: 12.9% (10th worst)

More on Dayton: Data | Photos

If you live in Dayton, this might not be a surprise, but you have the 40th highest crime rate, per capita in the state of Ohio. Every year you spend here, you have a 1 in 23.2 chance of being the victim of a property crime like a car break in or home invasion robbery.

That’s a lot of stolen cell phones, laptops and black license plates.

Plus there were 1,232 violent crimes in the last FBI reporting year. That means if you spent a year there, you’d have a 1 in 114 chance of being raped or attacked.

Finally, the folks who live here earn the 12th lowest salaries in Ohio At $30,128 a household, that’s simply not enough to get by for most folks.

Review Of Dayton by by TickleBiscuit Hey let me tell you…Dayton is a SHITHOLE. What do you expect in the armpit of America? All kidding aside,what killed Dayton was job loss. Back in the 40s & 50s, Dayton was a great place. Tons of jobs, good neighborhoods and great schools. You could come here and get a good job without a college degree. GM, Panasonic, Standard Register, NCR, Delphi Chassis, GE…the list goes on. As time went on, these companies moved to areas with cheaper overhead…I.e. out of state or country. All of those places I listed are gone. Closed. No decent jobs are left here, unless you work at the air force base or one of our many hospitals. The hospitals stay busy with all the shootings, stabbings and h****n ODs. Dayton is a bygone town from a bygone era and it gets worse every day. I was born and raised here, but I would leave tomorrow if I didn’t have family to take care of. The powers that be here are not interested in revitalizing the city. There is so much abandoned property here that the city could offer potential interests a good land deal or tax breaks, but seem to be too greedy to let that happen. Nothing here will change until something different is done. Review Where You Live

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility 4

/10 Population: 12,708

Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 8)

Median Home Value: $87,600 (52nd worst)

Unemployment Rate: 10.4% (31st worst)

More on Conneaut: Data | Photos

Conneaut, a smallish place right on the banks of Lake Erie, would be considered by most a less than desirable place to live. Besides the fact that it’s very sparsely populated, residents have a hard time earning a decent living. And, you get the brunt of the lake’s storms for 6 months a year.

Review Of Conneaut by by Rob Mummey I lived in Conneaut from 1965 to 1986. Was a great town back in the day until RONALD WILSON REAGAN (666). It went to s**t very quickly. Plants closed, docks went, railroad died and the town with it. Just after I got my family out of there is when the drugs came as the murders as well. Corrupt Police force brought in DEA, ATF and FBI. The West side explosion that killed Mrs. Riddle was horrifying. I went to school with her son. I get homesick and return there once in awhile for a day. It gets worse each time I go back. I’m very fortunate to have left there. If I would’ve stayed, my only option was Welfare and Food stamps. Not the life I want to live. Good luck to all in Conneaut. I do hope someday that City will be as great as it once was. Review Where You Live

Overall SnackAbility 4

/10 Population: 7,030

Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)

Median Home Value: $102,800 (91st worst)

Unemployment Rate: 11.9% (14th worst)

More on Logan: Data | Photos

Logan, OH needs a big hug right now. The unemployment rate here is 11.9%, the median income is just above the poverty line, and the crime is the 60th highest in the state. You have a 1 in 24.3 chance of being robbed here every year.

You could find a much better place to call home.

Next 10 Cities

Wrapping Up The Worst In Ohio

If you’re looking at areas in Ohio with the worst economic situations, where there’s higher than average crime, and not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

And in the end, Trotwood ranks as the worst city to live in Ohio for 2019.

If you’re curious enough, here are the best cities to live in Ohio:

Bellbrook (Pop. 7,103) Upper Arlington (Pop. 34,943) Wyoming (Pop. 8,476)

For more Ohio reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Places To Live In Ohio