Westlake, Ohio

Area Profile

34,104 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Westlake, in Cuyahoga County.

75out of 100
Area Score
Top 4% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 11% of 4,199 cities measured78
SchoolsTop 5% of 4,162 cities measured86
Growth3,598th of 4,224 cities measured30
Housing affordabilityTop 23% of 4,218 cities measured76
Climate2,386th of 4,225 cities measured68
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,226 cities measured97
AccessTop 9% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured66
The quick read

Westlake ranks in the top 11% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 2.8% and median household income of $112,200.

Public schools test above most of the state: 79% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 5% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 38 units authorized over the past twelve months, 50% below the prior year.

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
34,104
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$112,200
Top 12% nationally
Density
2,140/sq mi
15.9 sq mi of land
Median age
46.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Ohio
Metro area
Cleveland, OH
Nearest major airport
CLE
5 mi · Cleveland-Hopkins Intl
Median home value
$368,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 2.8%, lower than in 96% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.2% over the past year, to 17,023 employed residents.

60% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $112,200 is higher than in 88% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCuyahoga County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,97141st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCuyahoga County, OH’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$80,50065th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,8582024 ACS 5-Year$112,200Top 12%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,5912024 ACS 5-Year$69,306Top 6%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%Top 23%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.4 minTop 48%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year60.2%Top 7%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year70.2%28th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202617,023Bottom 18%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.5%Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.2%Bottom 42%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,50817th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.4%Top 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,310Bottom 36%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageCleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$50,140Bottom 43%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.2%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20262.8%Top 4%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year21.4%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 2.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, 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

2021202220232024112k98k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $112,200 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.

Largest occupations — Cleveland, OH

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers29,510$97,750
Registered Nurses28,240$83,940
Fast Food and Counter Workers28,010$28,750
Retail Salespersons24,650$31,000
Stockers and Order Fillers22,660$36,290
Home Health and Personal Care Aides19,400$34,520

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

79% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 87% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.4 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
5
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
78.9%
Top 12% in Ohio
Reading proficiency
86.7%
Top 5% in Ohio
All 5 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Westlake Elementary SchoolWestlake City1,21515.687%87%
Westlake High SchoolWestlake City98914.364%87%
Lee Burneson Middle SchoolWestlake City50113.286%86%
Dover Intermediate SchoolWestlake City47113.182%86%
Westlake Academy · charterWestlake Academy4916.3——

23.1% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Cleveland, OH Metro Area is up 48% over five years, and up 4.4% 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 $5,742 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.56% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,670, close to the $1,570 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,670 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $66,800 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $112,200.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,570 a month.

A median home at $368,200 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $140,731, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.9

Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Cleveland, OH Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,670
what a new lease costs · FY2025
Median gross rent
$1,570
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$368,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Westlake’s median household income of $112,200, 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
Cost of living indexthe Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure202392.9Top 16%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.4%71st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+48.1%74th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Cleveland, OH Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+99.8%61st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 46%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.1%44th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4642024 ACS 5-Year15,55996th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2025$1,380Top 48%of 4,072FY2025
Market rent, three bedroomFY2025$2,150Top 48%of 4,072FY2025
Market rent, two bedroomFY2025$1,670Top 50%of 4,072FY2025
Median gross rent ±$832024 ACS 5-Year$1,570Bottom 18%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,2672024 ACS 5-Year$368,20080th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3042024 ACS 5-Year$5,74292nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$17,7122024 ACS 5-Year$140,731Top 9%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year1.56%81st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.5%Bottom 49%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1212024 ACS 5-Year17993rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%45th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3052024 ACS 5-Year1,13595th percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

30/ 100
Ranks 3,598 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 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 34,232 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 70 units authorized in 2025, 5% below the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 34,232 residents in 2024, up 0.3% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 38 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Cuyahoga County, which contains Westlake, lost about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $66,971, below the $80,500 of households that moved out.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
38
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 28% nationally
Year over year
−50%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202434k34k
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
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
48%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,971
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$80,500
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lorain County, OH 3,270 people · 10% of arrivals
  2. Summit County, OH 2,621 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  3. Lake County, OH 2,356 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  4. Medina County, OH 1,676 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  5. Franklin County, OH 1,102 people · 3.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lorain County, OH 4,971 people · 13% of departures
  2. Summit County, OH 3,517 people · 9.1% of departures
  3. Lake County, OH 3,175 people · 8.2% of departures
  4. Medina County, OH 2,638 people · 6.8% of departures
  5. Franklin County, OH 1,365 people · 3.5% 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. This is the figure for Cuyahoga County, OH. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202513248
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+21%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.0 inches, including 63.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 54, in the Moderate band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CLEVELAND, 4.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year772024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals63.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year62024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
54
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
77
90th percentile index
Days above 100
6
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

97 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 63% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 98% of measured US cities.

TornadoModerate
Winter weatherModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
29
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year
Property crime
652
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Westlake's police department reported 29 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 652.

Cuyahoga County records 11.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 16.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 22.6 per 100,000 residents in Cuyahoga County.

Homicide
11.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
16.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
22.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.0
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Westlake’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Westlake (Cuyahoga County) rather than Westlake itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 Cleveland-Hopkins Intl at 5 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year93.4%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle5 miTop 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Cleveland-Hopkins IntlCLE5 mi9,953 ft
Akron-Canton RgnlCAK45 mi8,204 ft
Mansfield Lahm RgnlMFD53 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
75
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Cleveland, OH

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ClevelandCuyahoga County366,09759Cleveland vs Westlake
ParmaCuyahoga County79,87068Parma vs Westlake
LorainLorain County65,39555Lorain vs Westlake
ElyriaLorain County53,03563
LakewoodCuyahoga County50,00775
EuclidCuyahoga County48,82356
MentorLake County47,17174
StrongsvilleCuyahoga County45,98377
Cleveland HeightsCuyahoga County44,49766
North RidgevilleLorain County36,62775
BrunswickMedina County35,24671
North OlmstedCuyahoga County31,92471

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Westlake side by side with a similar place.

Westlake vs Bay VillageWestlake vs Latham

Moving to Westlake from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2024 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
FY2025
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

ZIP codes in Westlake

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Westlake with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Westlake closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
4414534,104$112,200$368,200—