county

Athens County, OH

Demographic and economic profile of Athens County, OH, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Athens County is anchored by Ohio University, which drives an unusually high educational attainment rate of 35.4% with bachelor's degrees or higher alongside a young median age of 33.2 years, though the local economy reflects an institutional character — median worker earnings stand at just $22,508 against a 22.1% poverty rate and 57.0% labor force participation. The county's population of 65,327 has contracted 6.6% over five years, unemployment sits at 5.8%, and median household income of $56,001 remains well below state norms, while housing costs stay low with a median home value of $173,800 and median gross rent of $903 per month.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

61,573

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$56,001

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

33.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-6.6% since 2018

Athens County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone55,392 (89.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,579 (4.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,368 (2.2%)
  • Asian Alone1,299 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race701 (1.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone374 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish607
  2. 2.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)449
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic432
  4. 4.Arabic417
  5. 5.Vietnamese374

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

14.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

70.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

14.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

3.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,075

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$31,952

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$29,474

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

22.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance11,251
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services4,057
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,712
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)2,569
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,793

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations11,811
  2. 2.Service Occupations6,411
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations4,779
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,843
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,904

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.74×)4,377
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.68×)11,236
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 0.90×)2,567
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 0.89×)2,775
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 0.79×)1,560

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$173,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$903/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

60.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9991,835 (13.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,743 (12.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,221 (8.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999977 (7.0%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999956 (6.9%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999879 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

35.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

57.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$22,508

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone17,988 (65.2%)
  • Worked At Home3,626 (13.1%)
  • Walked2,733 (9.9%)
  • Carpooled2,686 (9.7%)
  • Bicycle187 (0.7%)
  • Public Transit186 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.