While big cities like Dayton offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Dayton. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Dayton without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Dayton are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Dayton area.
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Dayton for 2023:
What’s the best suburb of Dayton? Oakwood ranks as the best suburb of Dayton for 2023 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Oakwood, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Dayton ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Ohio:
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Dayton Suburbs To Live For 2023
/10
Population: 9,470
Median Income: $126,713
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Oakwood: Data | Real Estate
Oakwood is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Dayton area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Oakwood.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $126,713 a year, which is the highest in the Dayton region. And only 1.64% are out of work. Homes average more than $266,400 each.
/10
Population: 7,266
Median Income: $97,555
Unemployment Rate: 0.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Bellbrook: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Bellbrook is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Dayton for 2023.
It ranks 6th for incomes in the area and only 4.08% of residents lack insurance, good for 13th best.
/10
Population: 34,337
Median Income: $110,833
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.3%
More on Mason: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Mason, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Dayton metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Mason.
/10
Population: 18,831
Median Income: $111,538
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Springboro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Springboro ranks as the 4th best suburb of Dayton for 2023.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Springboro and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 24,281
Median Income: $76,565
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.8%
More on Centerville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Centerville.
Centerville gets kudos for having the 7th most expensive homes in the Dayton area, where houses sell for an average of $210,000. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 46,320
Median Income: $101,042
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Beavercreek: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Beavercreek is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.29%.
According to online reports, Beavercreek is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Dayton area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 15,560
Median Income: $93,404
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Monroe: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Monroe.
Monroe schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 24.6 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Yellow Springs is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 2.7% of people lack insurance, good for 7th in the area.
/10
Population: 13,441
Median Income: $61,711
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Englewood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Englewood?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 12,973
Median Income: $78,774
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Trenton: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2023 is Trenton.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Dayton for 2023
Figuring out the best suburbs around Dayton was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2017-2021 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Dayton.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 47 suburbs to evaluate around Dayton.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 47 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Dayton.” We’re lookin’ at you, Oakwood.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2023. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Dayton suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Dayton ‘Burbs of 2023
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Dayton but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
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