Dent vs Middletown

Which is the better fit for you?

Dent, OH
72
Area Score
Top 10% nationally
Middletown, OH
63
Area Score
Top 37% nationally

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Dent receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Dent to Middletown

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Everyday prices
About the same
Regional price level 94.2 against 94.2 (US = 100). Both places sit in the same price region, so the index cannot tell them apart.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Enter your household income to see it.
A new two-bedroom lease
−$128 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $1,242 in Middletown against $1,370 in Dent.
The median home
42% less
$164,400 in Middletown against $282,500 in Dent.
The weather you would swap
Winters 1°F colder
Normal January lows are 22°F in Middletown against 23°F in Dent; July highs are 86°F against 86°F (summers the same).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Dent
Middletown
Opportunity: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
75 · Top 16%
vs
54 · Bottom 46%
Growth: Middletown is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
63 · Top 24%
vs
80 · Top 4%
Climate: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Climate
69 · Bottom 45%
vs
68 · Bottom 42%
Physical resilience: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Physical resilience
89 · Top 12%
vs
79 · Top 26%
Housing affordability: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
76 · Top 23%
vs
70 · Top 39%
Schools: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
37 · Bottom 33%
vs
22 · Bottom 15%
Access: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Access
99 · Top 16%
vs
87 · Bottom 32%
Economic stability: Dent is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
78 · Top 7%
vs
38 · Bottom 18%

Measured values

MetricDentMiddletownSource period
Population11,97351,6172024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income$86,636 — more favorable$57,1022024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$47,188 — more favorable$31,4562024 ACS 5-Year
Population density1,914/sq mi1,972/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$282,500$164,4002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent — the two are too close to separate$1,108 ±$103$1,007 ±$352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$1,370$1,242 — more favorableFY2026
Cost of living index94.294.22023
Homeownership rate82.6%54.0%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate3.6% — more favorable4.2%July 2026
Employment change (year over year)+0.6% — more favorable+0.5%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher41.4% — more favorable17.6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate4.4% — more favorable17.1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)1,89538712 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents2.37.5 — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)+110.8%+360.7% — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Average July high86°F86°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low23°F22°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation45.3"41.0"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport10 mi — more favorable29 miNASR current cycle
Average commute — the two are too close to separate25.9 min ±1.5 min25.5 min ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age42.338.62024 ACS 5-Year
Students per teacher17.4 — more favorable19.02024-25 school year
Math proficiency57.4% — more favorable51.9%2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency62.1% — more favorable57.9%2018-19 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

2 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison.

Physical risk tradeoff

Dent

Elevated or high exposure: tornado.

Middletown

Elevated or high exposure: tornado.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Dent
—
Dent: Your Score
72
Area Score
Middletown
—
Middletown: Your Score
63
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Dent, OH · Middletown, OH · How this is calculated: methodology