What it's like to live in Warren
Warren is a small city in Ohio with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Warren deals with unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and college degree attainment below the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment
- Below-average household incomes
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- Below-average hospital ratings
- High poverty rate
How Warren compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Warren
Based on Warren's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,532
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $30,640 a year
- 53% of Warren renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$17,280
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $8,640
- Homes cost 2.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 46% below US
$766/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $766 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $86,400. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $86,400 · 53% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▲ 72% above US
7.4% unemployment
Unemployment here is 7.4%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▲ 11% above US
442 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 2920/100k · Warren Police Department · 2022 data
Getting around▼ 12% below US
23 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 81°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 19°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
2 hospitals
There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 2.5 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 57% below US
16% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
10 public schools inside the boundary
There are 10 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Cuyahoga Valley National Park (39 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Warren's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($766/mo) equals 24% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Warren
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