While big cities like Toledo offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Toledo. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Toledo without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Toledo are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Toledo area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Toledo for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Toledo? Ottawa Hills ranks as the best suburb of Toledo for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Ottawa Hills, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Toledo ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Ohio:
The 10 Best Toledo Suburbs To Live For 2024
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Ottawa Hills is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Toledo area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Ottawa Hills.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $171,250 a year, which is the highest in the Toledo region. And only 5.29% are out of work. Homes average more than $366,322 each.
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Population: 24,855
Median Income: $98,419
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Perrysburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Perrysburg is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Toledo for 2024.
It ranks 3rd for incomes in the area and only 2.38% of residents lack insurance, good for 5th best.
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Population: 5,980
Median Income: $101,473
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.0%
More on Waterville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Waterville, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Toledo metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Waterville.
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Population: 19,042
Median Income: $86,048
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on Sylvania: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Sylvania ranks as the 4th best suburb of Toledo for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Sylvania and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 13,824
Median Income: $79,203
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on Maumee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Maumee.
Maumee gets kudos for having the 8th most expensive homes in the Toledo area, where houses sell for an average of $252,977. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Whitehouse is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.32%.
According to online reports, Whitehouse is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Toledo area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 6,153
Median Income: $89,600
Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Milan: Data | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Milan.
Milan schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 29.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
8. Oak Harbor, OH
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Population: 2,521
Median Income: $50,362
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 6.8%
More on Oak Harbor: Crime | Real Estate
Oak Harbor is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 0.83% of people lack insurance, good for 2nd in the area.
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Population: 7,301
Median Income: $71,000
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Wauseon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Wauseon?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
10. Genoa, OH
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Population: 2,039
Median Income: $64,750
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 10.6%
More on Genoa: Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Genoa.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Toledo for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Toledo was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Toledo.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 23 suburbs to evaluate around Toledo.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 23 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Toledo.” We’re lookin’ at you, Ottawa Hills.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Toledo suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Toledo ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Toledo are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Toledo but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Ohio reading, check out:
Table: Best Toledo Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottawa Hills, OH | 4,782 | $171,250 | $366,322 |
| 2 | Perrysburg, OH | 24,855 | $98,419 | $310,361 |
| 3 | Waterville, OH | 5,980 | $101,473 | $300,509 |
| 4 | Sylvania, OH | 19,042 | $86,048 | $290,474 |
| 5 | Maumee, OH | 13,824 | $79,203 | $252,977 |
| 6 | Whitehouse, OH | 4,771 | $76,923 | $334,557 |
| 7 | Milan, OH | 6,153 | $89,600 | $251,182 |
| 8 | Oak Harbor, OH | 2,521 | $50,362 | $164,750 |
| 9 | Wauseon, OH | 7,301 | $71,000 | $204,201 |
| 10 | Genoa, OH | 2,039 | $64,750 | $193,791 |
| 11 | Dundee, OH | 5,408 | $73,641 | $261,298 |
| 12 | Gibsonburg, OH | 2,572 | $67,279 | $182,039 |
| 13 | Blissfield, OH | 3,214 | $62,585 | $203,368 |
| 14 | Carleton, OH | 2,655 | $54,028 | $290,962 |
| 15 | Swanton, OH | 4,133 | $67,367 | $233,412 |
| 16 | Northwood, OH | 5,180 | $74,404 | $159,332 |
| 17 | Rossford, OH | 6,314 | $74,886 | $176,039 |
| 18 | Oregon, OH | 19,896 | $73,883 | $199,183 |
| 19 | Bowling Green, OH | 30,157 | $41,346 | $238,887 |
| 20 | Delta, OH | 2,813 | $67,100 | $200,308 |
| 21 | Monroe, OH | 20,400 | $57,779 | $200,178 |
| 22 | Adrian, OH | 20,607 | $40,797 | $168,112 |
| 23 | Walbridge, OH | 3,023 | $51,563 | $174,976 |
