Rating The Suburbs
Finding a suburb that fits your lifestyle can be as much art as science. Let our guide to the best places to live craft your next move. With great schools, safe neighborhoods and hot housing markets, these 20 suburbs top our 2018 list.
This year’s No. 1 suburb charms us with reliable schools, a hot housing market and access to Lake Erie and the Cleveland Metroparks. After its three-peat in our rankings in 1997-99, the attractive West Side spot is once again tops.
2. Beachwood
Ranking No. 10 in median home sale price and No. 4 in our list of best school districts, Beachwood holds steady in the second spot for two years in a row.
3. Highland Heights
There are plenty of reasons the East Side suburb boasts a 93 percent owner-occupancy rate, but an affordable housing market and a top-15 school district are high among them.
4. Westlake
With amenities such as Crocker Park, Porter Library and Bradley Woods Reservation, this glossy West Side suburb — a favorite among professional athletes and doctors — has executive suite appeal.
5. Solon
The children of Solon really are the future as the East Side suburb topped our list of Northeast Ohio school districts — as it has for more than a decade.
6. Hudson
Just behind Solon in education rankings at No. 2, the South Side suburb is one of the top 15 safest cities in Northeast Ohio and has the third-highest median home sale price, $361,000.
7. Bay Village
Along the Lake Erie shoreline, the West Side bedroom community has safe leafy streets lined with bungalows and Cape Cods that owners have added on to with care because they would rather stay put than leave their neighborhood.
8. Broadview Heights
A No. 3 safety ranking and a No. 5 school district propelled this 13-square-mile South Suburb up 10 spots from last year's rankings.
9. Richfield Village
The suburb that topped last year's list — as well as in 2011, 2014 and 2015 — still looks great, ranking No. 8 in safety and No. 9 in schools.
10. Pepper Pike
With the second-highest median home sale price ($394,000) on our list, this East Side suburb offers an easy commute and nearby amenities such as Legacy Village.
11. Avon
This booming Lorain County burb with developments sprouting up all along state Route 83 and Detroit Road boasts a top-15 education ranking, a top-10 median home sales price and the 12th lowest property tax.
12. Brecksville
A great place to raise a family, it shares a top-5 rated school district with Broadview Heights, provides easy access to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Cleveland Metroparks and is just a quick jaunt up Interstate-77 to downtown.
13. Twinsburg
Twinsburg, which claimed our top spot in 2010, saw its median home sale price increase almost 33 percent over the past five years with one of the lowest property tax rates in our list.
14. Avon Lake
About 9 miles from the Cleveland border in eastern Lorain County, Avon Lake features an impressive Lake Erie shoreline and top-15 rankings in education and safety. No wonder it made the top-15 list of home sales.
15. Aurora
Top 10 in education, safety and median home sale price, the Portage County city of more than 15,500 residents is also home to one of the regions top shopping centers, Aurora Farms Premium Outlets.
16. Independence
While it might not look like much as you buzz by on I-77 or I-480, the town of 7,000 residents provides a place to slow down with a host of friendly small businesses tucked behind Rockside Road and the amenities of cities twice its size.
17. Moreland Hills
This tiny, affluent suburb, which topped our median home sale price rankings at $437,000, boasts two top-notch public school options and is shaking its unapproachable stereotype with welcoming additions such as Flour, ML Tavern, Luna Bakery and more.
18. Shaker Heights
Historic Shaker rates in our top-20 for the first time in more than a decade with a hot housing market and the anticipated opening of the Van Aken District, creating a new downtown, later in 2018.
19. Mayfield Village
One of Northeast Ohio's safest suburbs, this East Side town includes a large chunk of the Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation and great accessibility to Interstate 271 and Route 91.
20. Bath Township
Take a deep breath of fresh air in this Summit County town that's adjacent to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park with lots topping 1.5 acres. Yes, it's a suburb fit for a King (James, that is).
