State food-access profile · 88 counties

Food access in Ohio

How far Ohio residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

Compiled by Plainfoodaccess, Food Access Editorial Process · June 23, 2026

25.1%
low-access pop.: 421
food-desert tracts: 12.3%
on SNAP: 88
counties

The statewide picture

About 2.9M Ohio residents - 25.1% - live in a low-access area, and 421 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

2.9M
low-access residents: 793K
food-desert residents: 7.4%
households, no vehicle: 13.3%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where Ohio stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, Ohio is ringed. Click any state to compare.

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in Ohio against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 88 counties and 11.8M residents, Ohio's population-weighted low-access share is 25.1%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 421 tracts in Ohio, home to roughly 793K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 12.3% of households, and 7.4% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

Counties

25.1%

Low-access (pop-weighted)

2.9M

Low-access residents

12.3%

Avg. SNAP

Warren

45.7
Clermont

45.4
Delaware

44.1
Noble

42.9
Butler

42.7
Lake

38.3
Union

38.3
Richland

36.4

All counties in Ohio

County	Population	Low-access	SNAP	No vehicle	Poverty
Warren County	250K	45.7%	4.6%	3.1%	6.0%
Clermont County	211K	45.4%	7.9%	4.6%	9.1%
Delaware County	227K	44.1%	3.6%	3.2%	4.7%
Noble County	14K	42.9%	9.9%	7.7%	10.6%
Butler County	393K	42.7%	9.8%	4.7%	11.8%
Lake County	232K	38.3%	7.5%	5.1%	8.3%
Union County	67K	38.3%	4.9%	2.4%	5.0%
Richland County	125K	36.4%	14.8%	7.2%	13.8%
Madison County	44K	36.3%	9.7%	3.3%	8.5%
Mahoning County	226K	35.5%	19.0%	8.4%	18.9%
Licking County	182K	35.1%	11.9%	5.2%	10.2%
Portage County	162K	34.7%	10.2%	6.6%	11.7%
Meigs County	22K	33.9%	25.1%	6.4%	21.8%
Marion County	65K	32.2%	17.0%	6.9%	16.6%
Crawford County	42K	31.5%	13.8%	5.3%	11.8%
Hamilton County	831K	31.1%	12.2%	10.3%	15.0%
Summit County	538K	31.1%	14.1%	7.9%	12.8%
Ottawa County	40K	31.0%	7.8%	3.5%	8.4%
Wood County	132K	30.8%	6.9%	5.1%	12.2%
Trumbull County	201K	29.9%	14.0%	8.2%	16.6%
Williams County	37K	29.8%	14.2%	5.5%	12.7%
Greene County	170K	29.4%	7.7%	4.4%	9.8%
Clinton County	42K	29.3%	11.3%	4.8%	12.9%
Guernsey County	38K	29.0%	17.1%	8.8%	15.3%
Stark County	374K	28.9%	12.7%	6.7%	12.5%
Montgomery County	536K	28.8%	13.5%	8.5%	15.0%
Lorain County	317K	27.9%	11.4%	5.7%	12.1%
Fairfield County	163K	24.6%	9.1%	4.1%	8.0%
Franklin County	1.3M	24.4%	10.9%	7.4%	14.7%
Geauga County	95K	24.4%	4.4%	8.1%	5.6%
Seneca County	55K	24.1%	13.5%	6.1%	11.9%
Putnam County	34K	23.9%	6.8%	2.1%	5.5%
Muskingum County	86K	23.7%	19.3%	7.7%	15.1%
Medina County	184K	23.2%	6.5%	4.0%	6.3%
Jefferson County	65K	23.1%	16.6%	8.5%	16.5%
Belmont County	65K	22.3%	15.2%	7.1%	15.8%
Erie County	75K	22.2%	11.4%	6.9%	13.0%
Adams County	28K	22.0%	20.7%	7.4%	20.2%
Ashtabula County	97K	21.9%	18.2%	7.8%	17.6%
Clark County	135K	20.3%	18.0%	7.2%	15.2%
Knox County	63K	20.3%	10.5%	6.3%	11.6%
Van Wert County	29K	20.2%	7.5%	3.6%	9.0%
Paulding County	19K	19.5%	11.5%	3.2%	8.9%
Lucas County	428K	18.3%	16.4%	8.6%	17.7%
Columbiana County	101K	17.8%	15.2%	7.6%	15.2%
Fulton County	42K	17.8%	9.6%	2.8%	9.4%
Allen County	101K	17.4%	13.8%	7.5%	13.3%
Defiance County	38K	17.3%	9.3%	5.0%	10.5%
Athens County	62K	17.0%	14.4%	6.8%	21.5%
Cuyahoga County	1.2M	16.8%	16.3%	12.2%	16.1%
Wayne County	117K	16.5%	8.2%	10.0%	9.4%
Miami County	110K	16.0%	7.7%	5.7%	9.4%
Pickaway County	60K	15.6%	12.0%	6.7%	11.5%
Harrison County	14K	15.2%	13.6%	6.1%	13.1%
Morgan County	14K	14.9%	16.4%	6.7%	12.9%
Shelby County	48K	14.8%	8.8%	4.1%	11.6%
Hocking County	28K	14.1%	16.6%	5.7%	16.0%
Gallia County	29K	14.0%	19.0%	8.2%	16.4%
Preble County	41K	13.5%	10.2%	4.0%	12.6%
Ross County	76K	13.4%	16.5%	6.3%	15.7%
Huron County	58K	13.3%	11.3%	4.3%	13.2%
Hancock County	75K	13.0%	9.0%	5.1%	9.9%
Mercer County	42K	13.0%	6.8%	4.0%	7.3%
Lawrence County	57K	12.1%	21.0%	6.8%	17.7%
Tuscarawas County	92K	11.5%	14.1%	7.4%	13.4%
Washington County	59K	11.2%	13.5%	5.5%	13.7%
Sandusky County	59K	10.7%	13.5%	3.5%	15.0%
Fayette County	29K	10.6%	14.3%	4.8%	15.5%
Auglaize County	46K	9.9%	6.8%	4.0%	7.1%
Darke County	52K	9.8%	8.1%	5.2%	11.0%
Hardin County	30K	9.1%	12.4%	6.6%	17.3%
Henry County	28K	8.8%	6.1%	3.7%	8.7%
Coshocton County	37K	8.1%	18.3%	11.8%	18.5%
Scioto County	73K	7.3%	22.6%	7.9%	21.8%
Brown County	44K	6.8%	16.9%	5.9%	19.6%
Wyandot County	22K	6.7%	8.4%	4.5%	8.8%
Carroll County	27K	6.4%	12.0%	6.8%	12.9%
Monroe County	13K	6.4%	13.4%	9.4%	15.2%
Highland County	44K	6.1%	15.1%	6.8%	14.1%
Jackson County	33K	5.7%	20.0%	7.6%	18.5%
Logan County	46K	5.7%	11.3%	6.1%	11.1%
Holmes County	44K	5.2%	4.8%	30.9%	9.3%
Ashland County	52K	5.0%	8.9%	6.5%	13.3%
Vinton County	13K	5.0%	20.9%	5.4%	17.3%
Pike County	27K	4.9%	23.8%	5.4%	21.3%
Perry County	36K	3.6%	15.9%	7.2%	14.7%
Champaign County	39K	3.4%	10.2%	5.6%	8.0%
Morrow County	35K	2.2%	11.8%	5.3%	12.8%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

25.1% of Ohio residents, about 2.9M people, live in a low-access area.
421 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 793K low-income, low-access residents.
12.3% of households receive SNAP, and 7.4% have no vehicle.
Warren County has the state's highest low-access share at 45.7%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of Ohio has low food access?▼

25.1% of Ohio residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).

How many food deserts are in Ohio?▼

421 census tracts in Ohio are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 793K low-income residents.

What is the SNAP participation rate in Ohio?▼

Across Ohio counties, an average of 12.3% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.

Which county in Ohio has the worst food access?▼

Warren County has the highest low-access share in Ohio at 45.7%, with 4.6% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of 2026-06-23 (most recent source-data vintage).

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