What it's like to live in Berea
Berea is a small city in Ohio with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Berea deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, a population that has been shrinking, larger class sizes than the national average, and cold winters.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low crime rates
The not so good
- Air quality concerns
- Shrinking population
- High student-teacher ratio
- Cold winters
- Heavy snowfall — 64" per year
How Berea compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Berea
Based on Berea's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,124
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $42,480 a year
- 38% of Berea renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$39,620
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $19,810
- Homes cost 2.6× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 25% below US
$1,062/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,062 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $198,100. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $198,100 · 38% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.1% county unemployment
Unemployment in Cuyahoga County is 4.1%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Cuyahoga County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 85% below US
50 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 369/100k · Berea Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 10% below US
23 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.4 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 17% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 82°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
37% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 37% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
2 public schools inside the boundary
There are 2 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Cuyahoga Valley National Park (17 miles away). There are 5 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Berea's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and a population that has been shrinking. A year of median rent ($1,062/mo) equals 17% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, anyone prioritizing low crime, and remote workers (17% of workers here already work from home).
Other places near Berea
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