Most rural counties in Ohio

On Mar 6, 2022

A surprising number of U.S. counties have 100% rural land-702, in fact. Stacker compiled a list of the most rural counties in Ohio using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the percent of land area that is rural, as of the 2010 Census, with ties broken by residents per square mile, according to 2019 5-year population estimates.

According to the Census Bureau, rural land encompasses any land that isn’t an urban area. To be considered an urban area, a place has to have a densely settled core of census tracts or blocks and count at least 2,500 people, at least 1,500 of whom must be residents of non-institutional buildings. Areas with 50,000 people or more are considered urbanized areas, while areas with between 2,500 and 50,000 people are considered urban clusters.

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#50. Auglaize County

– Rural area: 95.9% (385 square miles)
– Urban area: 4.1% (16 square miles)
– Total land area: 401 square miles
— #79 largest county in state, #2,517 nationwide

– Population density: 113.9 people / square mile (45,729 residents)
— #41 lowest density county in state, #2,346 nationwide

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#49. Defiance County

– Rural area: 96.2% (396 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.8% (16 square miles)
– Total land area: 411 square miles
— #62 largest county in state, #2,457 nationwide

– Population density: 92.7 people / square mile (38,160 residents)
— #30 lowest density county in state, #2,199 nationwide

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#48. Crawford County

– Rural area: 96.2% (387 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.8% (15 square miles)
– Total land area: 402 square miles
— #78 largest county in state, #2,512 nationwide

– Population density: 104.1 people / square mile (41,821 residents)
— #38 lowest density county in state, #2,288 nationwide

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#47. Pickaway County

– Rural area: 96.5% (484 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.5% (18 square miles)
– Total land area: 501 square miles
— #25 largest county in state, #2,074 nationwide

– Population density: 115.2 people / square mile (57,762 residents)
— #42 lowest density county in state, #2,348 nationwide

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#46. Knox County

– Rural area: 96.6% (507 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.4% (18 square miles)
– Total land area: 525 square miles
— #21 largest county in state, #1,990 nationwide

– Population density: 117.0 people / square mile (61,481 residents)
— #43 lowest density county in state, #2,356 nationwide

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#45. Shelby County

– Rural area: 96.6% (394 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.4% (14 square miles)
– Total land area: 408 square miles
— #68 largest county in state, #2,481 nationwide

– Population density: 119.6 people / square mile (48,749 residents)
— #45 lowest density county in state, #2,366 nationwidehttps://7f9dfd857623f441785ec7814555b6b7.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

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#44. Belmont County

– Rural area: 96.6% (514 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.4% (18 square miles)
– Total land area: 532 square miles
— #18 largest county in state, #1,963 nationwide

– Population density: 127.8 people / square mile (68,024 residents)
— #48 lowest density county in state, #2,395 nationwide

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#43. Scioto County

– Rural area: 96.9% (592 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.1% (19 square miles)
– Total land area: 610 square miles
— #8 largest county in state, #1,586 nationwide

– Population density: 124.6 people / square mile (76,040 residents)
— #46 lowest density county in state, #2,384 nationwide

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#42. Athens County

– Rural area: 97.0% (488 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.0% (15 square miles)
– Total land area: 504 square miles
— #24 largest county in state, #2,065 nationwide

– Population density: 130.9 people / square mile (65,917 residents)
— #50 lowest density county in state, #2,401 nationwide

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#41. Union County

– Rural area: 97.0% (419 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.0% (13 square miles)
– Total land area: 432 square miles
— #45 largest county in state, #2,349 nationwide

– Population density: 131.3 people / square mile (56,707 residents)
— #51 lowest density county in state, #2,404 nationwide

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#40. Huron County

– Rural area: 97.0% (477 square miles)
– Urban area: 3.0% (15 square miles)
– Total land area: 491 square miles
— #27 largest county in state, #2,115 nationwide

– Population density: 118.7 people / square mile (58,339 residents)
— #44 lowest density county in state, #2,363 nationwide

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#39. Washington County

– Rural area: 97.1% (614 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.9% (18 square miles)
– Total land area: 632 square miles
— #5 largest county in state, #1,514 nationwide

– Population density: 95.6 people / square mile (60,426 residents)
— #32 lowest density county in state, #2,223 nationwide

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#38. Fulton County

– Rural area: 97.2% (394 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.8% (11 square miles)
– Total land area: 405 square miles
— #74 largest county in state, #2,497 nationwide

– Population density: 104.2 people / square mile (42,253 residents)
— #39 lowest density county in state, #2,290 nationwide

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#37. Ross County

– Rural area: 97.5% (672 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.5% (17 square miles)
– Total land area: 689 square miles
— #2 largest county in state, #1,358 nationwide

– Population density: 111.7 people / square mile (76,948 residents)
— #40 lowest density county in state, #2,333 nationwide

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#36. Logan County

– Rural area: 97.7% (448 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.4% (11 square miles)
– Total land area: 458 square miles
— #38 largest county in state, #2,233 nationwide

– Population density: 98.9 people / square mile (45,316 residents)
— #34 lowest density county in state, #2,245 nationwide

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#35. Clinton County

– Rural area: 97.7% (399 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.3% (10 square miles)
– Total land area: 409 square miles
— #64 largest county in state, #2,470 nationwide

– Population density: 102.7 people / square mile (41,957 residents)
— #36 lowest density county in state, #2,275 nationwide

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#34. Seneca County

– Rural area: 97.9% (540 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.1% (11 square miles)
– Total land area: 551 square miles
— #16 largest county in state, #1,896 nationwide

– Population density: 100.5 people / square mile (55,351 residents)
— #35 lowest density county in state, #2,256 nationwide

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#33. Van Wert County

– Rural area: 98.0% (401 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.0% (8 square miles)
– Total land area: 409 square miles
— #63 largest county in state, #2,467 nationwide

– Population density: 69.1 people / square mile (28,261 residents)
— #16 lowest density county in state, #1,965 nationwide

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#32. Williams County

– Rural area: 98.0% (413 square miles)
– Urban area: 2.0% (8 square miles)
– Total land area: 421 square miles
— #53 largest county in state, #2,405 nationwide

– Population density: 87.5 people / square mile (36,816 residents)
— #25 lowest density county in state, #2,155 nationwide

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#31. Guernsey County

– Rural area: 98.1% (512 square miles)
– Urban area: 1.9% (10 square miles)
– Total land area: 522 square miles
— #22 largest county in state, #1,997 nationwide

– Population density: 74.9 people / square mile (39,111 residents)
— #20 lowest density county in state, #2,037 nationwide

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#30. Ashland County

– Rural area: 98.1% (415 square miles)
– Urban area: 1.9% (8 square miles)
– Total land area: 423 square miles
— #49 largest county in state, #2,397 nationwide

– Population density: 126.6 people / square mile (53,536 residents)
— #47…