Sandusky, OH

Metro Area Profile

114,575 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Sandusky, OH metropolitan area.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 15% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 18% of 379 metros measured74
Growth416th of 821 metros measured49
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 822 metros measured100
ClimateTop 46% of 822 metros measured68
Physical resilienceTop 13% of 822 metros measured81
Access446th of 822 metros measured74
Economic stability446th of 822 metros measured48
The quick read

Sandusky ranks in the top 18% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $73,502.

Rent takes 15% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.8 times that income.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Sandusky in the top 13% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
114,575
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,502
Top 31% nationally
Density
226/sq mi
506.0 sq mi of land
Median age
47.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Sandusky, OH
Nearest major airport
CLE
49 mi · Cleveland-Hopkins Intl
Median home value
$207,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4% is lower than 85% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 1.1% over the past year, to 58,973 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,914$73,502Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,576$43,625Top 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.4%Bottom 28%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.7 minBottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher29.2%Top 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment58,973Bottom 19%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.0%Bottom 46%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.1%Top 12%of 379June 2026
Labor force61,073Bottom 18%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation60.1%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$54,760Bottom 17%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,970Bottom 20%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment50,100Bottom 16%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-1.2%Bottom 2%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate3.4%Bottom 15%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.53.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Sandusky, OH
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,070$27,590
Cashiers1,690$28,530
Retail Salespersons1,510$31,000
Waiters and Waitresses1,400$34,610
General and Operations Managers1,380$81,790
Stockers and Order Fillers960$35,290

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $932 takes 15% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.8 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
15.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$932
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$207,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income2.82Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate76.1%Top 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8667,445Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$21$932Bottom 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,370$207,500Bottom 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.2%Bottom 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate24.4%Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
49/ 100
Ranks 416 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, reaching 113,533 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 3.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
349
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.0
Top 43% nationally
Year over year
+24%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
5.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024116k114k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 34.0 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SANDUSKY, 6.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation34.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

81 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, strong wind and hail.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 70% of measured US metros.

Winter weatherModerate
Ice stormModerate
HailModerate
TornadoElevated
Strong windModerate
LightningModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, earthquake, hurricane, coastal flooding, cold wave, landslide, wildfire.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 49 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Cleveland-Hopkins IntlCLE49 mi9,953 ft
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD50 mi9,001 ft
Eugene F Kranz Toledo ExpressTOL53 mi10,600 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
73
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.