Muskingum County, OH

County Profile

86,411 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Muskingum County, OH.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

52out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 23% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity826th of 1,463 counties measured52
Schools1,219th of 1,377 counties measured18
Growth982nd of 1,453 counties measured41
Housing affordabilityTop 31% of 1,462 counties measured78
Climate882nd of 1,463 counties measured64
Physical resilience891st of 1,463 counties measured51
Access937th of 1,463 counties measured74
Economic stability1,071st of 1,463 counties measured42
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.4% and median household income $60,780, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 59% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.5 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 135 units authorized over the past twelve months, 19% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
86,411
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$60,780
Bottom 38% nationally
Density
130/sq mi
664.5 sq mi of land
Median age
40.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Muskingum County
Ohio
Micro area
Nearest major airport
CMH
50 mi · John Glenn Columbus Intl
Median home value
$182,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 77% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 0.7% over the past year, to 39,836 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$49,60221st percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$48,23117th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,1602024 ACS 5-Year$60,780Bottom 38%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4802024 ACS 5-Year$32,809Bottom 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$52,426Bottom 35%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.8%Bottom 37%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.8 minBottom 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year20.6%Bottom 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.3%83rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202639,836Top 46%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 38%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202641,21854th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year74.4%Bottom 44%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%48th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.6%Top 2%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 23%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%28th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.73.1
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202461k52k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $60,780 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

59% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 63% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 18.5 students for every full-time teacher across 29 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
30
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
18.5
across 29 of them
Math proficiency
58.8%
Bottom 21% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
62.7%
Bottom 20% in Ohio
The 12 largest of 30 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Zane Grey Elementary SchoolZanesville City91516.942%43%
Maysville Elementary SchoolMaysville Local73719.477%72%
Tri-Valley High SchoolTri-Valley Local73020.946%68%
Zanesville CampusMid-East Career and Technology Centers72914.6——
West Muskingum Elementary SchoolWest Muskingum Local69120.967%62%
Zanesville High SchoolZanesville City68918.635%55%
Duncan Falls Elementary SchoolFranklin Local64814.470%69%
John McIntire Elementary SchoolZanesville City60417.368%60%
John Glenn High SchoolEast Muskingum Local54217.552%72%
Nashport Elementary SchoolTri-Valley Local54020.885%78%
East Muskingum Middle SchoolEast Muskingum Local52320.971%66%
West Muskingum Middle SchoolWest Muskingum Local51419.861%72%

44.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Ohio’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio is up 50% over five years, and up 6.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,649 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.91% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 17% above the $833 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 64% of the median household income here of $60,780.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $833 a month.

A median home at $182,200 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,250, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
27.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$973
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$833
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$182,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Muskingum County’s median household income of $60,780, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio’s figure2026 Q2+6.2%90th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio’s figure2026 Q2+50.3%70th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Ohio’s figure2026 Q2+100.5%58th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 44%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year68.2%23rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±542024 ACS 5-Year38,35778th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$820Top 29%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,324Top 28%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$973Top 18%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$322024 ACS 5-Year$833Top 42%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,4232024 ACS 5-Year$182,20050th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$662024 ACS 5-Year$1,64952nd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,4022024 ACS 5-Year$76,250Top 50%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.91%58th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year27.7%Top 49%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1372024 ACS 5-Year28144th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%19th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%54th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5022024 ACS 5-Year4,00074th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

41/ 100
Ranks 982 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 86,582 in 2024.

62% of the 135 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Muskingum County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $49,602, close to the $48,231 of households that moved out.

At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
135
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.6
Bottom 29% nationally
Year over year
−19%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
62.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202487k86k
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. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
21%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,602
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$48,231
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Licking County, OH 470 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Franklin County, OH 355 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Perry County, OH 301 people · 11% of arrivals
  4. Guernsey County, OH 230 people · 8.1% of arrivals
  5. Coshocton County, OH 148 people · 5.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Licking County, OH 359 people · 13% of departures
  2. Guernsey County, OH 339 people · 12% of departures
  3. Franklin County, OH 304 people · 11% of departures
  4. Perry County, OH 241 people · 8.8% of departures
  5. Coshocton County, OH 171 people · 6.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202514520
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+559%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 38.6 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ZANESVILLE MUNI AP, 3.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals38.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

51 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hail, with inland flooding alone responsible for 80% of it.

Inland floodingElevated
HailModerate
DroughtModerate
Winter weatherModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, ice storm, lightning, heat wave, strong wind, earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Muskingum County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.7 per 100,000 residents in Muskingum County.

Homicide
3.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
12.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Muskingum County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest John Glenn Columbus Intl at 50 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year89.3%Top 31%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle50 miBottom 31%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 13%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year8.8%Top 38%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
John Glenn Columbus IntlCMH50 mi10,114 ft
Rickenbacker IntlLCK53 mi11,902 ft
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD66 mi9,001 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
52
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Muskingum County, OH

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.