County food-access profile · Ohio
Warren County, OH
Warren County sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 45.7%
- low-access pop.
- 2
- food-desert tracts
- 4.6%
- on SNAP
- 250K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
45.7% of Warren County residents live in a low-access area, and 2 of its 33 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 21
- low-access tracts
- 13K
- food-desert residents
- 3.1%
- households, no vehicle
- 6.0%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Warren County carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 45.7% is well above the national share. 21 of the county's 33 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 97,281 people. 2 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 12,983 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Warren County compares nationally
Warren County sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 45.7% low-access share outpaces 91% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #272 most-affected nationwide.
Warren County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 33 census tracts in Warren County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Warren County vs. other Ohio counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Ohio
- Warren
Warren County, OH
45.7 % low-access
- Adams
Adams County, OH
22 % low-access
- Allen 17.4
Allen County, OH
17.4 % low-access
- Ashland 5
Ashland County, OH
5 % low-access
- Ashtabula
Ashtabula County, OH
21.9 % low-access
- Athens 17
Athens County, OH
17 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 33 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 212,693 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 21 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 2 |
| Low-Access Population | 97,281 |
| Low-Access Share | 45.7%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 12,983 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 250,008 |
| Median Household Income | $110,132 |
| Poverty Rate | 6.0%well below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 4,235 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 4.6%well below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 3.1%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 2.2% |
About 4.6% of Warren County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 45.7% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 4.6% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 4,235 households here.
- 3.1% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 2 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Warren County
well above the national share
2 of Warren County's 33 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 6.1% of all its tracts.
A further 19 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 21.
An estimated 97,281 residents, roughly 45.7% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 12,983 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 12 tracts (36.4%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Warren County
Warren County has 133 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 8 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 59 locations (44% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 59
- a-1 drive thru, lebanon
- all american drive thru, morrow
- ameristop foodmart, lebanon
- casey's 4014, carlisle
- carlisle convience store, franklin
- carlisle food mart, franklin
- carlisle fuel mart, franklin
- certified oil corp 400282, lebanon
- cookies market, franklin
- crown east marathon 1, franklin
- franklin food mart, franklin
- good to go 103, loveland
- good to go 105, lebanon
- harveysburg village market, harveysburg
- iga express lebanon, lebanon
- jk mart, franklin
- jo mart, mason
- joe's kwik marts 238, mason
- kanta oil llc, morrow
- kings island hop shop 1414, maineville
- landen bp, loveland
- lebanon express mart, lebanon
- maineville shell 2, maineville
- marathon 660, lebanon
- mason kwik mart, mason
- mason shell, mason
- meijer gas station 61, middletown
- middletown bp, franklin
- morrow drive thru, morrow
- morrow village market, morrow
- multani foodmart, franklin
- murphy usa 7429, franklin
- narayan enterprises llc 1, maineville
- om oil mason llc, mason
- om shiv krishna inc, waynesville
- pilot travel center 552, lebanon
- pilot travel center 9, franklin
- pj food mart, franklin
- red lion marathon, lebanon
- sheetz 817, springboro
- sheetz 833, franklin
- shell 1206, mason
- shell 1207, mason
- sk food mart llc, franklin
- speedway 1033, franklin
- speedway 1191, springboro
- speedway 1199, mason
- speedway 1224, mason
- speedway 1829, south lebanon
- speedway 5105, lebanon
- speedway 7409, franklin
- speedway 8626, lebanon
- springboro 761, springboro
- thorntons 557, springboro
- thorntons 74, mason
- united food mart, lebanon
- wawa store 7207, cincinnati
- wawa store 7211, mason
- zip in, carlisle
Combination Grocery/Other · 42
- cvs 2840, mason
- cvs 2964, maineville
- cvs 6086, lebanon
- cvs 6090, landen
- cvs 6136, franklin
- cvs 6139, springboro
- dollar general 10138, franklin
- dollar general 1346, franklin
- dollar general 1672, franklin
- dollar general 1954, franklin
- dollar general 7346, waynesville
- dollar general 8812, blanchester
- dollar tree 2275, franklin
- dollartree 10316, mason
- dollartree 11038, mason
- dollartree 7100, middletown
- dollartree 9037, maineville
- dollartree 9623, carlisle
- discount drug mart 56, springboro
- discount drug mart 77, mason
- dollar general 25971, harveysburg
- dollar general store 17683, franklin
- dollar general store 17721, franklin
- dollar tree 3449, lebanon
- dollar tree 5638, south lebanon
- dollar tree 7617, mason
- family dollar store 1114, morrow
- family dollar store 3228, lebanon
- united dairy farmers 061, mason
- united dairy farmers 092, maineville
- united dairy farmers 127, maineville
- united dairy farmers 143, mason
- united dairy farmers 175, mason
- united dairy farmers 177, franklin
- united dairy farmers 181, mason
- united dairy farmers 188, lebanon
- united dairy farmers 239, springboro
- walgreens 01281, maineville
- walgreens 05205, mason
- walgreens 07332, lebanon
- walgreens 09733, franklin
- walgreens 10051, mason
Super Store · 18
- costco wholesale 0384, cincinnati
- dollar general market 12020, mason
- dorothy lane market, springboro
- kroger 376, maineville
- kroger 426, mason
- kroger 448, mason
- kroger 925, springboro
- kroger 441, middletown
- kroger 447, lebanon
- kroger 492, maineville
- meijer inc 150, loveland
- meijer inc 61, franklin
- target store 1091, cincinnati
- target store 2486, south lebanon
- walmart 1407, lebanon
- walmart 1441, mason
- walmart 3784, franklin
- whole foods market 10340, mason
Supermarket · 7
- aldi 61064 61064, franklin
- aldi 61199, springboro
- aldi 47, lebanon
- enson market 13 inc. 13, mason
- gordon food service store mp099, mason
- gordon food service store mp115, middletown
- halal foods, mason
Large Grocery Store · 2
- hometown marketplace, waynesville
- zink meat market, franklin
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- diana deli 2, loveland
- y&m asia market, mason
Small Grocery Store · 2
- hunter iga express 29139, franklin
- south lebanon family food mart, south lebanon
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 1
- ken's butcher block, loveland
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Ohio
Compare Warren County vs Adams County → · All Ohio counties →
Food access nationally, Ohio in context
Warren County sits inside Ohio (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Warren County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Warren County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Warren County? ▼
Is Warren County a food desert? ▼
What share of Warren County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.