116,632 people (2024 Census estimate, −0.2% since 2020)
555 square miles of land · 210 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
32 active community water systems list Wayne County in the area they serve, reporting 58,751 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WOOSTER CITY PWS groundwater · local government · OH8504512 | 26,618 served |
| ORRVILLE CITY PWS groundwater · local government · OH8502712 | 8,452 served |
| RITTMAN CITY PWS groundwater · local government · OH8503012 | 6,491 served |
| DOYLESTOWN VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH8500612 | 3,051 served |
| CRESTON VILLAGE groundwater · local government · OH8500312 | 2,171 served |
| DALTON VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH8500412 | 2,000 served |
| SHREVE VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH8503412 | 1,514 served |
| WEST SALEM VILLAGE PWS groundwater · local government · OH8504311 | 1,410 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 148 people were held in Wayne County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 208 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 27.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
11 school districts have their office in Wayne County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $61.3 million — $52.6 million to run schools, about $15,952 per student, plus $6.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $40.3 million local (mostly property tax), $15.6 million state, $9.2 million federal.
Spent $22.2 million — $20.1 million to run schools, about $13,276 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $12.6 million local (mostly property tax), $8.4 million state, $3.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.6 million.
Spent $42.7 million — $22.9 million to run schools, about $15,955 per student, plus $16.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $21.1 million local (mostly property tax), $17.1 million state, $2.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $47.4 million.
Spent $17.1 million — $16.2 million to run schools, about $12,441 per student, plus $455,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.2 million local (mostly property tax), $8.5 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $6.5 million.
Spent $16.8 million — $15.2 million to run schools, about $11,667 per student, plus $811,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.7 million local (mostly property tax), $6.1 million state, $2 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.4 million.
Spent $18.5 million — $16.4 million to run schools, about $12,921 per student, plus $1.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.9 million local (mostly property tax), $9.4 million state, $2.3 million federal.
Spent $39 million — $20.7 million to run schools, about $16,656 per student, plus $16.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $14.9 million local (mostly property tax), $7.6 million state, $6 million federal. Long-term debt: $35 million.
Spent $15.6 million — $13.5 million to run schools, about $12,516 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.2 million local (mostly property tax), $7.1 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $13.8 million.
And 3 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Wayne County about $22.2 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
391 bridges in Wayne County: 233 in good condition, 134 fair, and 24 poor (6.1%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| EAST OHIO AVE. over RIVER STYX · built 1955 | 3,738 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 30A over LITTLE SUGAR CREEK · built 1935 | 1,037 vehicles a day |
| MILTON ST. over SUGAR CREEK · built 1970 | 1,030 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROAD 70 over CHIPPEWA CREEK · built 1961 | 810 vehicles a day |
| SR 604 over BR OF MUDDY FORK · built 1955 | 807 vehicles a day |
| TWP. ROAD 178 over KILLBUCK CREEK · built 1980 | 585 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $24.5 million of work in Wayne County in fiscal 2025, about $210 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Ohio are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Wayne County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Wayne County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Ohio: the state government and every county in Ohio.
Nearby counties: Holmes County (18 mi) · Medina County (20 mi) · Ashland County (20 mi) · Stark County (27 mi) · Summit County (27 mi) · Tuscarawas County (34 mi).