17 Reasons Not to Move to Zanesville, Ohio (Voted by the locals!)

Zanesville, Ohio was very close to where I grew up and one of my closest friends lived there. I would often travel to Zanesville to visit her. Now that I have moved out of Ohio it is time to roast Zanesville to shreds.

No one likes Zanesville Ohio. Not even the locals like Zanesville Ohio. Read on to understand why the locals wish they were not living in Zanesville Ohio and realize that you are better off for living as far away as you can from Zanesville Ohio.

17. Voted the 5th Worst City in Ohio

Roadsnacks voted that Zanesville Ohio was the 5th worst city in Ohio. They figured this out by calculating the economy, education, unemployment, home values, population density, income, and crime of all the cities in Ohio. Zanesville won against out a lot of other cities.

When the Times Recorder, a local newspaper, talked to citizens about the results of the poll the response was that they were surprised that Zanesville was not the number one worst city in Ohio.

No surprise for citizens that Zanesville would make that list. Zanesville is known throughout Ohio as a bad city to live in. I lived in Thornville Ohio and I remember making fun of Zanesville with my friends who lived there. There is a lot of animosity in the small town of Zanesville, Ohio.

16. Restaurant

Zanesville, Ohio does not support local businesses very well at all. With this in mind, it will be no shock to find out that Zanesville, Ohio does not have many good places to go out to eat.

The best places to eat in Zanesville, Ohio is the local fast-food chains. These places are also very understaffed so you are going to be waiting a long time for your food in Zanesville, Ohio.

15. Road Design

The roads in Zanesville Ohio are the most confusing and most poorly taken care of roads ever. That is my personal opinion as someone who drove over there regularly to hang out with my friend.

It does not matter where you live or how close you think you are to a store it will take you around 20 minutes to get anywhere. The way the roads are set up is not convenient for traffic.

The roads also have so many potholes. I remember going on rides and my friends and I having to pick which pothole looks smaller to hit because there was no way around all of the potholes.

14. Population Density

The population density of Zanesville, Ohio is 129 people per square mile. The United State of America’s average population density is 90 people per square mile. This means that Zanesville, Ohio runs on the overcrowded side of population density.

To be fair, though, this problem may not be a problem for long. Zanesville, Ohio has a growth rate of -0.03 per year. That means Zanesville, Ohio is losing citizens. People are leaving faster than they are moving in.

There is a reason for this. Zanesville, Ohio is not a good place to live. People are learning this and trying to sell their homes so they can move to a better place.

13. Political Leaders

Zanesville, Ohio is a town of old values. They have not progressed much its political growth.

The current mayor of Zanesville, Ohio is Donald L. Mason. He was mayor for Zanesville back in 1983, which shows how stuck in the political past Zanesville is.

Donald L. Mason’s politics and political agenda have not changed over time and he is still focused on gas and water developments instead of dealing with the crime levels that are ravaging the city.

A citizen of Zanesville, Ohio complained that in the current state of Zanesville, Ohio people are getting charged more by their political leaders for charges of drug possession than they are for pedophilia.

12. Economy

Zanesville, Ohio’s median income is $33,158. The United States of America’s median income is $67,521. This means Zanesville, Ohio has about half of the median income of the USA. Its poverty levels are very high.

Zanesville, Ohio has a poverty rate of 27.2% in comparison to the 11.4% poverty rate of the United States of America.

Zanesville, Ohio also has an 8.5% unemployment rate. The entirety of the United States of America has a 3.6% unemployment rate. Therefore, an economic crisis is strong in Zanesville Ohio.

After talking with some locals I have heard that there really just aren’t any good jobs in the area and that local businesses do not have a chance of taking off in the city.

11. No Diversity

Zanesville, Ohio is a very white area. Diversity is few and far between. 83.89% of the population is white. 7.33% of the population in Zanesville Ohio is African American, while 5.55% of the population is Hispanic.

These numbers show that there is very little representation and a community for people with different cultural backgrounds.

There are also very few shopping centers for people who enjoy food that is not traditional to white Americans. This is a tragedy to not have diversity in a community because diversity is what makes a community whole. It gives a community life and interest.

10. Home Value

In a list of Ohio’s 247 cities in which homes had the best home value, Zanesville Ohio was rated 226 for the best home value. Possibly and most likely because no one wants to move to Zanesville, Ohio.

The average home in Zanesville, Ohio is valued at $76,600. This is a very low home value average. The median home value in Ohio is $121,600. This means that your home in Zanesville, Ohio is not going to sell easily and you are going to have to take less money for it.

There are many factors that go into home value. The income level of the people around you, the school district, the jobs available, and many more. All the factors of whether or not a city is a good place to live in come into play. The contentious of the housing department is that Zanesville is not a good place to live.

9. Only Conservatives

Are you a Democrat? If you are I suggest you do not move to Zanesville, Ohio. Zanesville, Ohio has been a strong conservative city since its very founding.

The current mayor is Republican and the majority of the city council is Republican. To make matter worse, Zanesville is filled with Trump supporters. They are very vocal about their political opinion.

Therefore, if you are interested in a community that breeds political diversity and growth Zanesville, Ohio is not for you. Zanesville has a very predictable voting pattern and your vote in Zanesville, Ohio as a Democrat will not make a difference against the title wave of Republican voters.

8. Education

In Ohio, the way to gain funding for the school is done directly by the city. Each city gets to vote on how much school tasks will be on its citizens. Since the economic state of Zanesville Ohio is not well the funding for their education system has been down for years.

Zanesville, Ohio students are tested below 50% in the student testing of 2022. Their math proficiency rates were 48% in regard to the Ohio average of 63%.

They also cannot read with a 49% reading comprehension score in comparison to Ohio’s average of 64%.

The student-to-teacher ratio is above average with 18 students to 1 teacher. The United States of America’s average student-to-teacher ratio is 16 students to 1 teacher. This may not seem like a big jump, but any bit of extra one-on-one help can truly make a difference in your child’s education.

7. Income

Zanesville, Ohio has a median income of $33,158. This is very low in comparison to the median income of the United States of America which is $67,521. This is a $34,363 negative difference between median household income.

These numbers give us a good look into Zanesville, Ohio’s economic situation. The majority of jobs in the Zanesville, Ohio region are minimum wage jobs.

There is a huge labor shortage right now in Zanesville, Ohio because all that is being offered is minimum wage jobs. People are not wanting to work there and are doing their best to not have to work for corporate America.

6. Unemployment

Zanesville, Ohio has a very high unemployment rate. They were averaged having an unemployment rate of 8.5%. The United States of America’s unemployment rate is 3.6%. This means that Zanesville Ohio has a 4.9% unemployment rate than the United States of America.

This is a large unemployment rate. When city officials are questioned on why the very high unemployment rate they argue it has to do with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The citizens do not believe this, though, and say that these rates have always been high. It is just in recent years with the coronavirus pandemic that these numbers have been inflated along with the rest of the country.

People argue there really are no good jobs in Zanesville, Ohio. They say there really is only a few companies that have good jobs.

5. Homeless Population

There are 200+ homeless people who live in Zanesville, Ohio according to their mayor. This is a very high homeless populace for a rural community.

Zanesville, Ohio’s rent is very expensive. They charge on average $750 a month. This makes it harder for citizens to able to pay for housing.

There are families who live on the street due to the high housing rates and are forced to ask strangers for help to support themselves. Zanesville does have several homeless shelters for those who are facing homelessness. Still, living in a place with a lower cost of living and higher community support would be ideal for the homeless population in Zanesville, Ohio.

4. Crime

Zanesville, Ohio is one of the most relatively dangerous cities in the United States of America. On the crime index where 100 is the safest city in the United States of America and 1 is the most dangerous Zanesville rated an 8.

Per 1,000 citizens in Zanesville, Ohio 3.27 will experience a violent crime and 35.29 will experience a property crime rate. The Zanesville, Ohio crime rate per square mile is 79 crimes while the national average is 26.9. Zanesville is not a safe place to live.

Zanesville has on average 721 reports of theft a year and 47 reports of assault per year. Considering that Zanesville is a rural town these are quite high numbers.

3. Drugs

Zanesville, Ohio has a very high opioid drug problem. In general, Ohio is not a good place for drug-related issues. Ohio is considered ground zero of the opioid problem in the United States of America.

In a report on the cities with the most drug issues in Ohio, Zanesville ranked number 7 of the worst cities drug cities in Ohio. In 2020 there were calculated 43 overdoses in the confounds of Zanesville.

These numbers reveal a bigger problem than just the city of Zanesville, Ohio. They reveal a problem with our entire health system showing that there is not enough support for those who struggle with addiction.

2. Prostitution

When I was informed by a person in a chat room that prostitution was an issue in Zanesville, Ohio I laughed. I found this hard to believe because for me prostitution was always linked to big cities.

After doing some more research, though, not only was I able to find reports of prostitution busts in Zanesville, Ohio but I was able to find the contact info of actual practicing prostitutes in Zanesville, Ohio.

Zanesville, Ohio’s prostitution problem is another reflection of the crime issue that is plaguing this small city.

1. Pedophiles

Zanesville, Ohio has 101 registered sex offenders living within the city. That means they have a ratio of for every 253 people there is 1 registered sex offender.

These are pretty high ratios. Of sex offenders, while there is no documentation of how many of these were pedophiles if you search pedophiles in Zanesville, Ohio you will be greeted with one story after another of sick humans who have hurt an innocent child.

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