In our 18th annual Rating the Burbs feature, we look at our local communities to see how they stack up against one another. Where did your community fall on this year’s list?
1 Terrace Park
Terrace Park, ranking No. 1 or No. 2 in three categories this year, returns to the top spot in “Rating the Burbs” for the fifth time in 18 years. The village, with a population of 2,150, describes itself as a “quiet residential community with tree-lined streets and charming homes … where children ride their bikes or walk to school.” With a median home-sale price of $722,500, it ranked second behind the Village of Indian Hill for the highest price in the area—up 66.4% from 2018. Terrace Park sits in the Mariemont City School District, which ranked second in the area. The village’s homeownership rate of 97.7% is second-best in the area, and it had no property or violent crimes. Terrace Park started an Urban Forestry initiative in the late 1890s with the planting of 1,600 trees; an inventory of trees begun in 1982 continues to guide the village in its forestry program. Terrace Park was the winter home of the popular touring John Robinson Circus until 1917, which was eventually bought by John Ringling. The village sits along the last stretch of Wooster Pike (U.S. 50) in Hamilton County before entering Milford.
2 Newtown
The village of 2,691 residents makes its first top 10 appearance since 2011 after just missing last year at No. 11. Newtown sprinted up the rankings with a low crime rate, a good school system (Forest Hills Local School District) and strong home sales ($335,000 median sale price in 2023, up 92% from 2018). The village offers various parks and recreation opportunities, such as Moundview Park, with an 1,800-square-foot pavilion and 1,044-square-foot adjoining patio; Lake Barber, a 52-acre spring-fed, man-made lake and 1.5-mile walking/biking path; Short Park; Bicentennial Park; Mini Park; and the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail, which runs through Newtown. The American Indian Education Center provides museum displays showing the history of the Prehistoric Native Americans who lived in the Little Miami River Valley before the settlement of Newtown in 1792 as Mercersburg. The village incorporated in 1901, when it changed its name to Newtown.
3 Wyoming
Wyoming returns to the top 10 after two years off. The 2.87-square-mile city of 8,720 has been in the top 20 in all but two of the past 15 years—and it was barely out of the top 20 those years. With a strong school system (No. 5 Wyoming City Schools), a high homeownership rate (90%) and good home sales (median price of $512,500 in 2023, up 55% from five years earlier), Wyoming maintains its streak of attractiveness. The city’s Recreation Department oversees many amenities for residents, including a civic center, six community parks, Oak Gym, the Wyoming Family Aquatic Center, two picnic shelters, a skate park, nine tennis courts and athletic fields. Wyoming became a village in 1874 with 600 residents, then a city in 1949.
4 Oxford Township
(Butler County)
Originally named College Township, this Butler County community of 24,033 residents places No. 4 this year. Low crime (No. 2), a low commute-to-work time (16.8 minutes average) and a good school district (Talawanda City Schools) helped push the township to its high ranking. Located in the far northwest corner of Butler County, Oxford Township is home to the city of Oxford and Miami University. The unincorporated areas, which exclude Oxford and the village of College Corner, have a population of about 1,700 residents. The Black (Pugh’s Mill) Covered Bridge, built in 1868 to give access to a saw and grist mill, is located in the township, although it is owned by the city of Oxford. Part of Hueston Woods State Park stretches into the township, which was founded in 1811.
5 Amberley Village
The village of 3,824 residents returns to the top 10 for the second year in a row. High homeownership (97%), a low commute-to-work time and a strong median home-sale price in 2023 ($597,500, up 83% from 2018) helped the 3.5-square-mile community, which is close to the center of the region’s Interstate 275 loop. Mid-century modern, contemporary and traditional architectural styles help distinguish Amberley Village, which was incorporated in 1940. The village offers three parks: French Park, the former 275-acre estate of Herbert Greer French that is the second-largest Cincinnati Park Board property after Mount Airy Forest and contains several trails; Amberley Municipal Park on the grounds of Village Hall, with a playground and tennis courts; and Amberley Green, a 133-acre former golf course to enjoy walking, running and viewing ponds and trees
6 The Village of Indian Hill
After topping the list last year, the city of The Village of Indian Hill moves to No. 6 this year. Its primary school system, the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, was No. 1 in the education rankings; the city ranked No. 5 with its crime rate; and its homeownership rate (97.5%) was fourth highest in the region. Indian Hill was settled as a farming community in 1795 and prospered as the Little Miami Railroad provided good transportation for its products. In the early 1900s, Cincinnatians began buying Indian Hill property and traveling there on weekends; the village incorporated in 1941. Indian Hill is zoned 100% residential, so it has no businesses. The village of 6,051 residents had the highest median home-sale price in the region in 2023, at $1,464,900, up 40% from five years earlier.
7 Blue Ash
Blue Ash returns to the top 10 for the fourth time since 2010. With a good school system (Sycamore Community School District), a leaping median home-sale price in 2023 ($545,000, up 98% from 2018) and a relatively short time to commute to work (20 minutes), the city of 13,325 has much to offer. Blue Ash is an economic hub, with more than 2,300 employers, including some of the largest U.S. and global companies; 50 Fortune 500 companies have operations there, according to the city’s website. The daytime population more than doubles, as workers commute to the city. Plenty of recreation exists year-round at, for instance, Blue Ash Golf Course, Blue Ash Recreation Center, Summit Park and Towne Square—including many concerts and park activities. You can also catch a vintage baseball game at Crosley Field, a replica of the Cincinnati Reds old ballpark. Blue Ash was settled in 1791, incorporated as a village in 1955 and became a city in 1961.
8 Hanover Township
(Butler County)
For its first top 10 appearance, Hanover Township relied on its relatively low crime rate, its good schools (primarily Talawanda City Schools but also parts of three other districts) and its high homeownership rate of 89.6%. On its website, the township of 8,137 says it has been responding to residents’ desire for more park and recreation spaces by buying more land and adding developments to the 18-acre Hanover School Memorial Park. It also has scheduled more family friendly events. Hanover was established in 1811 from parts of Ross and St. Clair townships and was named for Hanover County, Virginia, where its settlers began.
9 Villa Hills, Ky.
Villa Hills, a former No. 1 in Rating the Burbs, this year makes its 10th appearance in the top 10 since 2010. A high homeownership rate (93.7%) and relatively low crime propelled the city of 7,331 this year. It also experienced a 76% increase in its median home-sale price in 2023—to $399,999. Villa Hills sits along the Ohio River on what was once farmland and was started partly with a $300 loan in 1962. Its convenience to I-275, downtown Cincinnati and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport makes it an attractive location, and it serves primarily as a bedroom community.
10 Massie Township
(Warren County)
The median home-sale price more than doubled in the Warren County township, going from $147,200 in 2018 to $320,000 last year, helping Massie Township move into its first top 10 ranking. Three other times since 2010, the township of 1,291 residents landed in the top 15 spots. Massie Township also has a relatively low crime rate, and its primary school system, Clinton-Massie Local Schools, ranks No. 24. The community is home to the popular Renaissance Festival each fall, as well as Caesar Creek State Park, and it was the location for Ohio’s first free school for African-American children, according to the township’s website. The Elizabeth Harvey Free Negro School, established in 1831 and operated until the early 1900s when public schools were integrated, still stands in Harveysburg.
Honorable Mentions
The Honorable Mentions category shows communities that did not place among the Top 75 Communities but did place in the top 25 in at least two categories among the 138 communities of 1,000 or more population. This year, those communities are: Lockland, Oxford and Union Township (Warren County).
Terrace Park Tops List for 5th Time
Median home-sale prices in Greater Cincinnati continue to defy gravity
By Bill Ferguson Jr.
In a year in which prices of homes continued to rise, Terrace Park returns to the top of Cincy Magazine’s “Rating the Burbs.”
Despite 30-year average mortgage interest rates remaining in the 6-7.75% range during all of 2023, the median sale prices of homes in Greater Cincinnati continued their upward trend. More than half of the 138 communities in “Rating the Burbs” experienced gains of 60% or more in 2023, compared with 2018—more than a dozen doubled or more in median prices, according to data collected from the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati.
Terrace Park, with the second-highest median price in the area behind the city of The Village of Indian Hill, saw its median price climb 66.4% to $722,500 from five years earlier. The Census Bureau reports that 97.7% of homes in Terrace Park are owner-occupied, giving the village of 2,150 residents the second-best homeownership rate in the area in 2023, behind Washington Township in Warren County.
“You can’t get a sign out front—it’s already sold,” Gerald Hayhow, Terrace Park’s police chief and village administrator, says. “It’s a combination of several things. Schools are always going to be important, and our safety—that’s what people look at when they want to raise a family.”
A low crime rate—zero in 2023—helps propel the village in the rankings. Often, zero to very few incidents of the eight key categories of crime—burglary, theft, auto theft, arson, murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault—occur within its limits.
Hayhow also notes that the village has no income tax, which, for a wealthy suburb, makes a difference.
Home Sales Fall, Prices Rise
Home sales nationwide started cooling a bit after the Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark federal funds rate in 2022. The 30-year average U.S. mortgage rate bottomed at 2.65% in the first week of 2021, according to Freddie Mac, then remained relatively stable around 3% for the rest of the year. Rates started rising in 2022 when the Fed began its tightening cycle, eventually moving past 7%, where they stand now.
The Fed raised rates 11 times from March 17, 2022, to July 26, 2023, moving its federal funds target range to 5.25-5.5% from 0.25-0.5%. Other rates typically follow the Fed’s lead.
Meanwhile, the number of Southwest Ohio sales has been declining after peaking in the record year of 2021 at 27,863, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati.
If the number of sales is declining, you might expect prices to fall as well. Even with the higher rates, however, median home-sale prices in Greater Cincinnati have continued rising, including this year.
A decade ago, in January 2014, the median home-sales price as reported by the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati was $112,500 in Southwest Ohio. The price didn’t break $200,000 until May 2020, at $201,945. With the exception of February 2021 ($199,950), the median price has remained above $200,000 since.
In May this year, the median price in Southwest Ohio broke through $300,000 for the first time, at $310,000, the Realtor Alliance of Greater Cincinnati reported.
Cincy’s Data-Driven ‘Rating The Burbs’ Marks Its 18th Year of Publication
By Bill Ferguson Jr.
The 18th edition of Cincy’s “Rating the Burbs” analyzes thousands of data points from 138 communities of 1,000 or more population in Boone, Butler, Campbell, Clermont, Dearborn, Hamilton, Kenton and Warren counties.
We examinine data and information from government agencies, real-estate professionals and informative websites.
We review hundreds of spreadsheets and websites on numerous subjects to determine the Top 75 Communities, Top Public School Systems and 50 Safest Neighborhoods in the eight-county metro region. Because all data are comparative for each community, collection of all data for each jurisdiction is important.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey updates the 2020 census each year, with 2022 numbers the latest released.
More than 270 villages, cities, townships, Census County Divisions and Census Designated Places are located in the eight counties, and Cincy collects data on those with populations of 1,000 or more, bringing the total rated to 138 Greater Cincinnati communities
We collect median home-sale prices from the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati, the Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors and the Southeastern Indiana Board of Realtors each year. Data for a few communities that are unavailable through those three organizations are gathered from county auditor websites.
Education data are collected from state report cards, state education department websites and school district websites for the 68 school districts that serve K-12 students in at least some part of the eight-county area. One Kentucky district serves K-8 and is not included in the final results. We also make public-records requests to the state departments of education themselves.
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, available through the agency’s Crime Data Explorer, lists four categories of property crime and four categories of violent crime; the latest breakdown of numbers is from 2022. Reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so not all jurisdictions report their statistics. For those, we check community and state websites, and contact our county sheriffs’ offices and township, city and village police departments through emails and phone calls.
County auditors, treasurers and property valuation administrators in the three states provide property-tax rates, and we break down the tax charts for all localities and compare taxes in each area for $100,000 of house value.
Rising Mortgage Rates Bring Slowdown in City Sales
By Bill Ferguson Jr.
Higher mortgage rates continued throughout 2023, bringing a slowdown in home sales and prices in the city of Cincinnati, although they remain strong historically.
After five years of at least 10 city areas doubling in median home-sale prices in a five-year period, residents in just six areas saw prices at least double in 2023 from 2018. The 30-year average U.S. mortgage rate bottomed at 2.65% in the first week of 2021, according to Freddie Mac, and now stands at close to 7% after the Federal Reserve began tightening rates in 2022.
All but two of the 39 city areas tracked by the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati registered gains in 2023, with Linwood and Mount Adams experiencing declines from 2018. The MLS breakdown of areas does not correspond exactly to the 52 neighborhoods, but some areas are true neighborhoods.
Sales in the 39 areas totaled 2,445 in 2023, compared with 2,986 in 2022, the MLS reported. City sales peaked in 2021 at 3,319 after hitting 3,127 in 2020 and 3,028 in 2019.
Mount Lookout led the highest-priced list for 2023 median-sale price at $671,000 on 95 sales, followed by Hyde Park ($575,000; 147), East End ($570,000; 15), Mount Adams ($545,000; 19), and Columbia Tusculum ($432,500; 46). To the right are the 15 city areas with at least 10 sales that experienced the largest price gains from 2018 to 2023:
