Best Places Test

WHERE WE LIVE IS MORE THAN A ZIP CODE. IT’S A PLACE WE CALL HOME — A COMMUNITY WE FEEL CONNECTED TO, A WAY TO BUILD FRIENDSHIPS AND START A FAMILY. WE ASKED 77 OF OUR NEIGHBORS ABOUT WHY THEY LOVE WHERE THEY LIVE.

STORIES BY KATE BIGAM KAPUT, BECKY BOBAN, ARBELA CAPAS, SARA CRAWFORD, CRISTINA FORMICHELLI, LISA GALEK, NICK HAWKS, KELLIE INNES, SOPHIA MALTESE, LYDIA MANDELL, HENRY PALATTELLA, KEN SCHNECK, RACHEL SCULLY & CANDICE WILDER

RATING THE SUBURBS! TOP SCHOOLS, SAFEST TOWNS & MORE clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

71

72

Vital Stats Safety Rank

Education Rank

Number of home sales (2020)*

Median home sale price (2020)*

2015-20 home sale price (% change)

10-year home sale price (% change)

Owner-occupied housing units (%)

Property tax (per $100,000 valuation)

Environmental infractions

Total community services

Roads with sidewalks (%)

Alternative commute (%)

Commute to work (minutes)

Population

Below poverty level (%)

Diversity (% minority)

Top 20

2021 Rank

C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

2021

1

38

5

290

$325,000

38.2%

77.6%

72.0%

$2,430

0

14

94.7%

3.5%

24.4

20,198

4.8%

7.3%

2020 RANKING

Rocky River

2

Richfield Village

12

2

1

13

56

$418,665

46.9%

83.6%

89.3%

$1,640

1

9

3.1%

1.3%

25.5

3,650

3.1%

4.3%

Brecksville

13

3

6

10

178

$329,950

33.0%

48.3%

85.2%

$2,400

3

13

13.3%

2.3%

23.9

13,537

4.5%

10.0%

1

4

22

1

394

$320,000

20.8%

34.2%

82.7%

$2,530

6

14

50.6%

1.0%

25.3

22,947

5.2%

29.1%

Solon Westlake

4

5

36

11

370

$326,000

28.9%

44.7%

72.2%

$2,080

3

13

100.0%

3.6%

24.7

32,275

4.7%

13.5%

Avon Lake

14

6

4

8

446

$271,500

10.2%

44.4%

81.5%

$2,040

6

11

82.5%

1.5%

25.7

24,030

5.1%

7.0%

Chagrin Falls

6

7

15

4

90

$376,000

31.5%

39.3%

75.1%

$2,840

5

11

38.2%

5.3%

24.6

4,032

1.7%

3.4%

Bay Village

8

8

20

7

380

$262,750

28.2%

31.4%

92.3%

$2,810

0

10

100.0%

1.8%

25.2

15,325

3.4%

6.8%

Pepper Pike

10

9

7

6

129

$455,000

19.0%

4.0%

98.4%

$2,430

0

13

1.0%

2.4%

22.1

6,269

4.5%

16.9%

Bath Twp.

18

10

14

13

151

$385,000

32.2%

70.4%

92.2%

$2,010

0

5

4.2%

0.4%

25.4

9,657

4.8%

8.0%

Avon

20

11

32

12

349

$329,900

12.2%

37.5%

84.3%

$2,100

2

13

64.6%

1.7%

25.1

22,999

2.8%

11.2%

Beachwood

3

12

74

2

165

$325,000

24.5%

25.5%

62.3%

$2,240

0

12

90.0%

5.1%

22.5

11,663

4.0%

29.7%

Orange Village

11

13

53

6

50

$301,950

-16.5%

2.4%

85.3%

$2,360

0

12

26.4%

3.8%

20.1

3,276

4.5%

23.3%

Hudson

7

14

16

3

343

$358,000

13.7%

14.7%

87.1%

$1,920

3

11

25.9%

2.3%

26.4

22,263

2.1%

9.6% 12.0%

48.9%

0.8%

27.9

19,195

1.6%

8

0.0%

2.0%

22.5

3,306

2.0%

7.5%

Highland Heights

9

17

26

20

146

$252,500

-6.5%

16.4%

94.5%

$2,480

1

12

93.0%

1.4%

22.0

8,390

2.1%

13.8%

Hinckley Twp.

19

18

19

14

114

$371,250

58.0%

49.7%

98.1%

$1,720

1

4

2.2%

0.4%

31.3

7,967

4.6%

2.7%

Mentor

NR

19

47

19

625

$214,500

26.2%

44.0%

85.2%

$1,840

6

9

48.4%

3.1%

22.5

47,096

4.8%

5.5%

15

20

63

26

104

$255,000

18.6%

38.4%

93.2%

$1,920

7

14

94.8%

1.0%

22.2

7,169

1.7%

5.9%

Education Rank

Below poverty level (%)

Diversity (% minority)

Independence

Community

Population

12

0

Commute to work (minutes)

3

$2,470

Alternative commute (%)

$2,460

92.7%

Roads with sidewalks (%)

81.9%

18.4%

Total community services

34.6%

16.0%

Environmental infractions

20.2%

$435,000

Property tax (per $100,000 valuation)

$284,000

79

Owner-occupied housing units (%)

282

6

10-year home sale price (% change)

10

5

2015-20 home sale price (% change)

11

16

Median home sale price (2020)*

15

16

Number of home sales (2020)*

5

Moreland Hills

Safety Rank

Broadview Heights

Amherst

18

32

157

$180,000

14.6%

35.9%

81.8%

$1,860

1

8

55.6%

1.1%

22.1

12,108

7.6%

12.0%

Aurora

17

15

201

$270,000

-6.2%

-2.9%

82.3%

$1,870

2

10

17.9%

0.6%

29.2

16,026

4.6%

8.5%

Bainbridge Twp.

40

9

219

$400,000

27.9%

23.8%

88.3%

$2,210

3

2

1.1%

1.3%

26.5

11,459

4.2%

6.8%

Bedford

46

47

212

$97,500

30.9%

13.9%

51.3%

$2,770

7

9

98.0%

3.9%

22.6

12,631

10.8%

62.2%

Bedford Heights

107

$119,900

34.7%

19.9%

43.3%

$2,770

8

12

91.1%

5.9%

22.1

10,565

16.0%

82.0%

55

47

Berea

54

33

327

$158,000

27.4%

35.0%

68.8%

$2,630

3

12

94.6%

8.4%

22.6

18,788

11.9%

15.4%

Brook Park

62

33

322

$144,000

42.0%

28.6%

77.6%

$2,390

11

11

77.6%

2.5%

22.6

18,617

12.2%

15.4%

Brooklyn

68

48

173

$129,900

48.5%

36.2%

53.7%

$2,730

3

14

100.0%

3.0%

23.4

10,773

12.1%

34.6%

Brunswick

25

31

556

$212,000

34.3%

36.8%

76.5%

$1,640

0

11

66.3%

1.0%

27.4

34,781

7.2%

8.9%

Chardon

59

28

81

$225,000

32.4%

12.5%

56.9%

$1,910

4

9

32.3%

4.0%

22.8

5,167

11.4%

4.8%

Chester Twp.

24

21

108

$245,000

18.9%

32.4%

96.4%

$1,820

1

2

0.7%

0.9%

26.1

10,289

5.0%

3.6%

Cleveland Heights

56

44

880

$137,250

25.3%

-4.0%

55.3%

$4,030

1

14

84.2%

11.2%

23.0

44,571

18.2%

52.1%

Concord Twp.

12

39

258

$325,000

22.6%

68.0%

90.1%

$2,050

1

7

0.0%

0.3%

24.7

18,144

4.0%

5.5%

Cuyahoga Falls

71

42

792

$151,000

24.3%

31.3%

62.0%

$2,230

11

13

53.7%

1.5%

22.4

49,192

10.7%

12.3%

East Cleveland

72

55

92

$16,500

6.5%

-68.8%

31.0%

$3,100

3

7

100.0%

22.0%

25.5

17,200

37.5%

93.7%

Eastlake

61

45

245

$139,900

22.7%

39.9%

70.5%

$2,500

3

9

18.6%

3.9%

23.4

18,156

9.8%

10.3%

Elyria

66

49

640

$125,000

9.2%

92.3%

59.3%

$2,190

19

11

46.6%

2.7%

23.6

53,821

23.1%

28.2%

Euclid

75

57

882

$85,000

46.4%

-3.4%

45.6%

$3,410

18

13

100.0%

9.1%

24.7

47,159

21.8%

66.4%

Fairview Park

42

40

345

$194,000

33.8%

46.1%

71.6%

$3,100

4

11

94.3%

4.0%

23.9

16,303

8.2%

10.2%

Garfield Heights

73

56

641

$73,000

46.0%

-2.7%

62.3%

$3,960

9

10

95.5%

5.0%

24.1

27,814

17.6%

54.3%

Kirtland

27

30

73

$285,000

12.6%

22.4%

85.5%

$1,980

1

8

1.1%

0.8%

25.3

6,822

5.5%

5.1%

Lakewood

64

29

632

$234,250

75.5%

87.4%

43.1%

$2,990

7

12

100.0%

7.1%

23.9

50,259

14.0%

16.2%

Lorain

69

51

689

$109,900

5.7%

133.8%

56.1%

$2,110

15

9

96.5%

2.6%

23.7

63,801

25.1%

48.4%

Lyndhurst

52

46

381

$153,000

24.6%

22.4%

84.7%

$3,270

1

11

81.8%

1.6%

22.8

13,533

2.6%

18.3%

Macedonia

33

23

200

$238,750

25.8%

17.3%

93.0%

$1,800

3

8

44.7%

1.8%

26.0

11,873

1.6%

17.0%

Maple Heights

76

50

533

$69,000

62.4%

30.2%

58.5%

$3,710

2

9

91.5%

8.4%

24.5

22,383

21.6%

78.7%

Mayfield Heights

44

20

300

$156,750

16.5%

15.7%

48.3%

$2,660

1

12

94.6%

2.3%

20.0

18,669

9.5%

24.1%

Mayfield Village

31

20

61

$260,000

23.8%

21.8%

72.8%

$2,470

0

12

40.5%

0.0%

20.2

3,372

3.9%

7.1%

Medina

57

18

381

$196,000

24.1%

38.1%

65.5%

$1,790

9

13

96.8%

2.1%

26.9

26,069

9.6%

9.1%

Mentor-on-the-Lake

43

19

95

$158,500

30.0%

41.9%

63.4%

$2,210

0

4

11.5%

3.4%

27.3

7,391

10.1%

8.8%

Middleburg Heights

13

33

235

$194,900

29.9%

39.2%

70.9%

$2,390

3

12

42.8%

2.9%

23.1

15,573

4.5%

17.2%

North Olmsted

49

38

510

$191,250

38.1%

40.6%

74.6%

$2,910

1

15

75.0%

4.1%

25.1

31,710

10.9%

11.4%

North Ridgeville

21

35

632

$220,000

16.2%

59.4%

87.4%

$2,020

3

7

67.2%

1.6%

26.1

33,427

5.0%

10.7%

North Royalton

35

27

354

$257,000

21.2%

51.2%

72.8%

$2,340

2

13

10.9%

1.3%

27.6

30,252

4.8%

9.2%

Oakwood Village

39

47

41

$150,000

1.7%

42.9%

72.4%

$2,220

1

9

3.6%

2.9%

26.4

3,668

21.1%

66.0%

Olmsted Falls

3

22

135

$193,000

22.2%

43.5%

84.2%

$2,930

1

6

35.0%

2.6%

26.6

8,883

3.4%

5.5%

Olmsted Twp.

28

22

187

$228,965

32.3%

26.5%

74.3%

$3,300

1

6

43.5%

1.4%

24.1

13,422

4.0%

11.0%

Painesville

48

53

179

$117,500

18.1%

46.9%

49.8%

$2,380

19

8

82.2%

5.3%

22.1

19,845

18.2%

46.6%

Painesville Twp.

37

39

194

$195,013

35.8%

47.2%

74.8%

$2,300

1

3

6.5%

1.8%

25.4

20,313

9.8%

6.7%

Parma

60

37

1563

$138,900

42.5%

29.8%

71.7%

$2,580

4

10

98.8%

2.9%

24.7

79,091

9.1%

13.5%

Parma Heights

9

37

317

$145,000

45.0%

38.1%

57.3%

$2,660

0

8

88.9%

2.6%

25.9

20,045

10.0%

19.7%

Richmond Heights

65

54

153

$170,000

36.0%

28.5%

63.4%

$3,150

1

8

63.2%

5.8%

24.7

10,406

13.5%

61.2%

Sagamore Hills Twp.

2

23

192

$239,950

6.6%

6.2%

83.0%

$2,030

0

5

7.9%

1.5%

26.0

10,920

4.1%

12.7%

Seven Hills

8

37

271

$210,000

35.9%

40.0%

92.2%

$2,760

0

9

42.7%

1.5%

26.2

11,638

5.8%

7.0%

Shaker Heights

23

17

498

$250,000

13.6%

4.8%

63.1%

$4,010

1

14

96.3%

7.4%

23.4

27,387

8.5%

45.4%

Sheffield Lake

50

41

127

$145,000

39.4%

68.7%

78.4%

$2,310

0

8

15.8%

0.7%

28.8

8,968

5.8%

15.6%

South Euclid

77

46

552

$120,000

46.2%

26.3%

72.4%

$3,500

1

10

93.3%

4.9%

23.9

21,572

15.1%

55.8%

Stow

41

34

455

$204,000

24.4%

14.9%

69.1%

$1,930

4

10

46.3%

1.0%

24.8

34,776

5.6%

9.3%

Streetsboro

29

43

258

$254,000

32.3%

35.1%

71.9%

$1,940

2

8

30.0%

0.6%

25.4

16,406

8.5%

15.6%

Strongsville

34

24

721

$246,000

29.5%

42.4%

81.5%

$2,440

4

11

25.0%

1.5%

27.8

44,719

4.6%

12.3%

Twinsburg

10

16

279

$262,500

15.4%

14.1%

74.0%

$1,780

6

12

63.2%

0.1%

25.6

18,707

5.8%

26.9%

University Heights

67

44

330

$174,950

26.8%

29.1%

63.4%

$4,050

0

8

100.0%

10.7%

21.1

13,025

11.1%

30.8%

Warrensville Heights

70

52

115

$70,000

126.7%

-11.4%

39.4%

$3,090

5

9

82.9%

14.0%

25.0

13,203

21.9%

96.1%

Wickliffe

51

36

223

$135,000

31.1%

7.5%

80.9%

$2,930

5

10

95.6%

1.8%

20.3

12,743

7.1%

11.8%

Willoughby

45

45

247

$170,000

18.1%

19.7%

62.1%

$2,360

4

12

55.3%

1.6%

22.8

22,869

7.0%

8.4%

Willoughby Hills

58

45

83

$240,000

27.7%

35.4%

42.5%

$2,400

0

8

0.0%

0.3%

21.6

9,527

9.2%

31.6%

Willowick

30

45

246

$137,950

23.2%

20.0%

75.6%

$2,750

0

10

100.0%

2.8%

21.3

14,133

7.4%

8.2%

SM

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21-0419

2021

Top 15 2020 Rank

Mayfield Heights

Top 15 Safety Rankings Rank

Amherst

SCHOOL DISTRICT

2020 Rank

1 2

2020 RANKING

Top 15 School Districts Rank

COMMUNITY

Safety Rank

Rank

We look at the 30 suburbs with the lowest median home sale value ($180,000 or less) and rate them the same as our overall rankings.

Education Rank

Best Bargains

COMMUNITY

[NR]

18

32

1

Solon

1

1

Richfield Village

26

1

44

20

2

Beachwood

3

2

Sagamore Hills Twp.

4

3

Mentor-on-the-Lake

12

43

19

3

Hudson

2

3

Olmsted Falls

16

4

Berea

2

54

33

4

Chagrin Falls

4

4

Avon Lake

5

5

Parma Heights

14

9

37

5

Rocky River

5

5

Moreland Hills

1

6

Sheffield Lake

15

50

41

6

Orange

7

6

Brecksville

7

7

Willowick

8

Brook Park

4

30

45

7

Bay Village

8

7

Pepper Pike

12

10

62

33

8

Avon Lake

11

8

Seven Hills

28

9

Parma

9

60

37

9

Kenston

10

9

Parma Heights

51

10

Oakwood Village

11

39

47

10

Brecksville-Broadview Heights

6

10

Twinsburg

33

11

University Heights

13

67

44

11

Westlake

14

11

Broadview Heights

2

12

Brooklyn

[NR]

68

48

12

Avon

15

12

Concord Twp.

10

13

Wickliffe

8

51

36

13

Revere

9

13

Middleburg Heights

14

14

Lyndhurst

7

52

46

14

Highland

13

14

Bath Twp.

11

15

Eastlake

[NR]

61

45

15

Aurora

12

15

Chagrin Falls

9

University Heights

$4,050

COMMUNITY

(2010-20)

1

% Change

$1,640

10-Year Median Home Sale Price Increase (%)

1

Lorain

133.8%

Rank

Brunswick

Property Tax

1

COMMUNITY

(per $100,000 valuation)

COMMUNITY

Highest Property Taxes

Rank

Rank

(per $100,000 valuation)

Property Tax

Lowest Property Taxes

1

Richfield Village

$1,640

2

Cleveland Heights

$4,030

2

Elyria

92.3%

3

Hinckley Twp.

$1,720

3

Shaker Heights

$4,010

3

Lakewood

87.4%

4

Twinsburg

$1,780

4

Garfield Heights

$3,960

4

Richfield Village

83.6%

5

Medina

$1,790

5

Maple Heights

$3,710

5

Rocky River

77.6%

6

Macedonia

$1,800

6

South Euclid

$3,500

6

Bath Twp.

70.4%

7

Chester Twp.

$1,820

7

Euclid

$3,410

7

Sheffield Lake

68.7%

8

Mentor

$1,840

8

Olmsted Twp.

$3,300

8

Concord Twp.

68.0%

9

Amherst

$1,860

9

Lyndhurst

$3,270

9

North Ridgeville

59.4%

10

Aurora

$1,870

10

Richmond Heights

$3,150

10

North Royalton

51.2%

11

Chardon

$1,910

11

East Cleveland

$3,100

11

Hinckley Twp.

49.7%

12

Hudson

$1,920

11

Fairview Park

$3,100

12

Brecksville

48.3%

12

Independence

$1,920

13

Warrensville Heights

$3,090

13

Painesville Twp.

47.2%

14

Stow

$1,930

14

Lakewood

$2,990

14

Painesville

46.9%

15

Streetsboro

$1,940

15

Olmsted Falls

$2,930

15

Fairview Park

46.1%

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C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

How We Rate

In the years that we’ve rated Cleveland’s suburbs, we’ve evaluated three major factors: safety, education and housing. We’ve added other qualities that make a suburb desirable such as public services, diversity and walkability. Scores are assigned to each suburb for every category used in the rankings.

Those scores are based on the year’s available numbers. We then add up the category scores, weighting certain categories more than others. Safety and education, for example, are given more weight than property taxes, which is given more weight than environmental infractions. The Top 20 are those suburbs with the highest combined scores — in other words, the suburbs that perform best in all of the categories combined.

How We Did It

Overall rankings are determined using raw data that is converted into points calculated from the average in each category. Rankings for safety and education are awarded based on the total scores in each category.

Safety

Sources: Statistics for the calendar year 2020 are provided by each suburb. Crimes per 1,000 in Richfield Village are based on the combined populations of Richfield Village and Richfield Township, since the Richfield Village police patrol both and do not keep separate village stats.

Education

Sources: Individual school districts and the Ohio Department of Education 2019-2020 and 2018-2019 School Report Card district data files.

The state’s 26 possible indicators for student performance are based on standardized tests, a gifted indicator that measures how gifted students are performing, a chronic absenteeism improvement indicator measuring the number of students who are chronically absent (missing at least 10% of the school year) as well as schools’ efforts to reduce that number, and an end-of-course improvement indicator measuring the performance and improvement on retaken end-of-course tests.

Each school’s possible indicators vary depending on which tests its students take.

The state’s Performance Index rewards the performance of every student, not just those who score “proficient” or higher. The scores range from 0 to 120, with 100 being the goal. The state tests students in reading and math every year from third through eighth grades. It also tests science in fifth and eighth grades. The state has transitioned from its Ohio Graduation Tests to end-of-course tests. Those include English I & II, math I & II, geometry, algebra, American history, American government and biology. In our rankings, the end-of-course tests are expressed as an average percentage of all students who scored at proficiency or above. The state’s value-added ranking measures the impact schools and teachers have on students’ academic progress rates from year to year or another period of time, using student achievement data.

There are four value-added measure grades combined to get a Progress Component Grade: The state calculates this progress made for all students, and then for subgroups of gifted students, students with disabilities and students whose academic performance was in the lowest 20% of students statewide. Through 2019, state law stipulated that if any of these subgroup grades were lower than a B on an A-F scale, and the overall grade was still an A, then the overall grade would be demoted to a B

Property Tax

Sources: 2020 rates of taxation are from county auditors, treasurers or fiscal officers and the Ohio Department of Taxation. They include each community’s rollback and reduction for owner-occupied residential property for levies passed before November 2013.

Population, Poverty, Diversity & Owner-Occupied Housing

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Diversity points are awarded based on the suburb’s percentage of minority residents (nonwhite, Hispanic or multiracial), with the most points given to those suburbs closest to a 50% balance.

Environmental Infractions

Source: The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s database of reported polluted sites, which is continuously updated and includes reports of polluted sites that the EPA has not fully investigated.

Community Services

The mayor’s office of each suburb informed us which of the following services are available to all residents: tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball and softball diamonds, indoor or outdoor ice rinks, indoor swimming pools, outdoor swimming pools, public playgrounds, recreation centers, public skateboarding parks, senior services, youth services, free mulch, free leaf pickup, free garbage pickup and recycling programs.

Roads With Sidewalks

Each suburb provided information on the miles of roads and sidewalks. Percentage of roads with sidewalks was determined by dividing centerline miles of roads by half the miles of sidewalks (assuming sidewalks on both sides of the street) and converting to a percentage.

Alternative Commute And Commute Time To Work Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

1

Parma

COMMUNITY

Roads with Sidewalks (%)

$455,000

COMMUNITY

Highest % of Roads with Sidewalks Rank

Pepper Pike

Sources: The county auditors or fiscal officers’ offices provided figures for valid sales of single-family homes in 2010, 2015 and 2020.

Number of Sales (2020)

1

Rank

Rank

COMMUNITY

Median Home Sale Price

Most Home Sales

Median Home Sale Price (2020)

Median Home Sale Price

to reflect this discrepancy. We calculated the students per full-time teacher ratio using the state-reported figures for enrollment and full-time teachers.

In line with legislative action allowing schools to forego certain state tests in the 2019-2020 academic year, limited data is available. Therefore, we repurposed 20182019 state data regarding achievement scores, end-of-course tests, performance index scores and overall value-added rankings. For more detailed reports on local districts’ state report cards, visit ode.state.oh.us.

As a measure of college readiness, we asked school districts to provide the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes offered. In addition, we requested the percentage of seniors from the class of 2020 who took at least one of those classes during high school and who scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP test or a 4 or higher on at least one IB test during high school.

1,563

1

Bay Village

100.0%

2

Moreland Hills

$435,000

2

Euclid

882

1

Brooklyn

100.0%

3

Richfield Village

$418,665

3

Cleveland Heights

880

1

East Cleveland

100.0%

4

Bainbridge Twp.

$400,000

4

Cuyahoga Falls

792

1

Euclid

100.0%

5

Bath Twp.

$385,000

5

Strongsville

721

1

Lakewood

100.0%

6

Chagrin Falls

$376,000

6

Lorain

689

1

University Heights

100.0%

7

Hinckley Twp.

$371,250

7

Garfield Heights

641

1

Westlake

100.0%

8

Hudson

$358,000

8

Elyria

640

1

Willowick

100.0%

9

Brecksville

$329,950

9

Lakewood

632

9

Parma

98.8%

10

Avon

$329,900

9

North Ridgeville

632

10

Bedford

98.0%

11

Westlake

$326,000

11

Mentor

625

11

Medina

96.8%

12

Rocky River

$325,000

12

Brunswick

556

12

Lorain

96.5%

12

Concord Twp.

$325,000

13

South Euclid

552

13

Shaker Heights

96.3%

12

Beachwood

$325,000

14

Maple Heights

533

14

Wickliffe

95.6%

15

Solon

$320,000

15

North Olmsted

510

15

Garfield Heights

95.5%

clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

79

Rocky River No. 1 suburb

Jennifer Hihn, 44 Owner of River Plant Co.

T

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C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

MATT SHIFFLER

EN MONTHS AGO, Jennifer Hihn’s relationship with Rocky River changed. After being a Rocky River resident for 12 years, she also became a Rocky River business owner last August when she opened River Plant Co. She hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s been awesome to see everyone in Rocky River support us as a small business,” Hihn says. “I have so many connections here and they’ve all helped me out so much since I’ve opened.”

Hihn first got into the plant business last year by painting pots and posting them on Facebook Marketplace. As her business began to grow and her house gradually turned into a greenhouse, she decided to set up a separate location for her business. After looking around, she found the store’s current location on Lake Road — a spot right down the street from her home.

“The Rocky River Chamber of Commerce was a huge help in getting me started,” she says. “It’s awesome to be in such a walkable place surrounded by so many other local businesses.”

Hihn does her part to help those local businesses by hosting small business pop-ups from noon to 3 p.m. every Saturday. She also hosts painting sessions for adults and kids over the weekend, which have become a hit among other Rocky River residents.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now without the wordof-mouth, whether that be from people or other businesses,” she says. “Rocky River is really growing and it’s awesome to see myself and all these other small businesses grow with it.”

Bedford Heights

THE DARK ROOM CO.

Roderick May, 59 Assistant to the mayor I met my wife in Bedford Heights 30 years ago. I was just turning 30 years old and there was an event here at the Mediterranean Party Center just off Rockside Road.

She was standing there with her friend, fixing her dress. I was standing in the corner of the party with a group of my friends.

Then, we both turned our heads and bodies around and saw each other for the first time and it was as if God said, “There she is!”

I asked her to dance with me.

After that, we dated for five years and we’re now going on our 25th wedding anniversary. We got married in that same venue where we met.

The guy who owns the venue is a good friend of a neighbor I know.

It’s just one of those places with a ton of memories for many others who live in Bedford Heights. A ton of community events are there. Her high school reunion was there.

Our house is just down the street from there. We raised our three kids there. I know every neighbor on my street.

The community, the people and services here are great. It’s just this quaint, little town.

I wouldn’t move even for a million dollars.

MEDINA

Rebecca Strother, 32 Real estate agent

“I have always wanted to live in Medina — it’s my final destination. There are all different kinds of people here, and it’s nice because everybody learns about everyone else. Most people are very open to that.”

BEDFORD

Chaze Harris, 18

High school senior

“My favorite memories in Bedford are making the varsity basketball team as a freshman and hitting my 1,000th point. We’ve had a lot of support through COVID. People couldn’t show up, but they livestreamed our games.

Before this, our junior year, we had a lot of support with gyms full and everything.”

BEACHWOOD

Vivi Mack, 50 Doula and small business owner

“There are multicultural events at school all the time. They have ‘bring in something that’s important to your heritage’ weeks where kids can show off something from their parents’ home country or even their home country.”

Warrensville Heights Santonya Jones, 45

CPA

Warrensville Heights has everything I need. While it’s not the biggest suburb, it’s so centrally located that it seems like I know everyone from Warrensville Heights along with all the surrounding suburbs.

As a mother of an 11-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter, I love the education they’re getting in Warrensville Heights’ school system. When my son first started going to school, there was a school voucher program in place so a lot of his friends in the neighborhood didn’t go to school with him, which was tough. That all changed when Donald Jolly took over as superintendent in 2015. He’s reopened some closed schools and changed the whole vibe around the school district.

We went from having failing grades as a district to now averaging B’s and C’s. Once the construction of the new elementary school is complete, we’ll be able to compete with all the other East Side suburbs.

It’s been great that my children have been able to grow up in a predominantly African American neighborhood and school district. I feel like it’s allowed them to flourish academically and personally because they’re surrounded by a feeling of acceptance and understanding from their peers and teachers.

CHESTER TOWNSHIP

Anna Weiss, 18 West Geauga High School graduate CHESTER HAS BEEN A GREAT PLACE to grow up. It’s not a busy or extremely populated suburb. It’s not yet the middle of nowhere, but it’s not traffic ridden.

CHESTER HAS TAUGHT ME that I like being known. I like having the people around me know me and having a presence in the community.

NO OTHER TEACHER has as many students as Mr. Branch does, yet he does an amazing job and finds a way to constantly have fun, and as we say, “Keep the party rolling.”

SOPHOMORE YEAR, every day after

sixth period, I would talk to my history teacher Mr. Speros. It didn’t matter about what, I would just rant to him for a half-hour at a time. And he would listen.

There’s not a single teacher at our school that wouldn’t do the same.

A PLACE I LIKE TO EAT is Georgio’s.

It’s the best pizza. They put the perfect amount of sauce on their pizza and the bread is always very fluffy. I don’t know what their secret is, but I have an immense appreciation for Georgio’s.

WHEN I WAS 10 OR 11, there used to be the St. Anselm fair at the church. It wasn’t at all religious, but I would happily wait all year for that lemonade. It was probably the immense amount of sugar in it that made me really like it, but they would squeeze the lemons in front of you.

SOLON

Jackie Hicks, 50

Sales executive

“There is an availability to know and learn about other cultures that I think is very important and to be open-minded to everyone who’s out there. I believe that the school systems allow the children to also have that kind of background.”

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS

Jeremy King, 31 Pastor at Story Church

“You’ve got the old-timers that have lived here for three generations, you have the new families coming into town — it’s vibrant. You could go up and down the streets and everybody’s got a story to tell. That’s what makes it a great, great community.” clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

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Richfield Village Anita Gantner, 61 Retired psychologist

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C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

Artist

“Willoughby has the convenience of restaurants and shops. It’s close to other areas around Cleveland, but it still has that small-town feel. There’s a quaint downtown area and concerts in the park — small town things like that. It has all the conveniences you could want.”

KIRTLAND

Andy McGovern, 46 Event manager at Lake Metroparks Farmpark

“The Strawberry Festival is where the community comes together with the big parade at the school. I’ve been in the parade, I’ve watched the parade, I’ve done both. It’s just the sense of community and the respect and love and overall happiness.”

SHAKER HEIGHTS

Penny Harris, 70 Co-owner of Spice for Life

“A basic core of the Shaker community, and why we moved in, is the value on diversity, inclusion and giving back to the community. That ethos is an important part of us, my family and bringing up our kids here.”

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS Elle Muhlbaum, 31

Rabbi

WE MOVED HERE A YEAR AGO for work. We’d planned to drive to Cleveland to house-hunt in April 2020, but then the pandemic started, so we did everything fully virtually from Long Island. We didn’t end up seeing our house until we arrived in Cleveland and got the keys.

THE SYNAGOGUE WHERE MY husband and I work is six minutes from here, so there’s no lengthy commute. At this stage of our family life, with a small child, we knew we wanted to live close to where we were working.

WE’RE GETTING TO KNOW OUR neighborhood by foot, and we love the walkability.

OUR STREET FEELS LIKE A microcosm of University Heights.

It’s a diverse area, and it’s also really generationally mixed — a couple of snowbirds, some younger grandparents and some young families, as well as folks that don’t have kids.

WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO TASTE the neighborhood. Maybe it’s because we’re a rabbi and cantor couple, or maybe it’s because we came here from New York, but a priority for us was finding a good bagel. We really lucked out being right up the street from Bialy’s.

Stow Von Jones, 25

V

Owner of Mobile Foamzone & Detailing

ON JONES KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A CLEAN START. After graduating from Kent State University with a degree in mechanical technology, he moved from Cuyahoga Falls to Stow in 2018 with his now-fiancee. Jones was drawn to the tightknit, yet quieter community. After realizing there weren’t any mobile car detailing services in the area, he decided to start his own. “My dad and I would clean, buff and wax his car before spring,” Jones says. “There are several things you should do before waxing your vehicle that I didn’t learn until I started my business.” Now, Jones is the only Black-owned car detailing business in the Stow area, and he’s felt nothing but support since he arrived. Jones attributes his thriving business to the strong network of connections that run through the Stow community. Whether it’s a local landscaper passing his name to a fellow customer or a neighbor mentioning his business to someone at work, Jones has learned that the best way to get his business moving is through word-of-mouth. When he’s not working, Jones enjoys a calm walk around the block with his dog and the proximity to nature right in his backyard. “It’s good to know your community and try to meet everyone,” he says. “You can meet one person, they know 10 or 15 people. They’ll get your business out there and your good name if you do good work. It’ll just travel by itself.”

ELLE MUHLBAUM: THE DARK ROOM CO.

Although I was raised on the West Side of Cleveland, Richfield Village was very present in my life growing up. You see, I was a big Cleveland Crusaders fan. So my brother used to drive my friend and me to the Richfield Coliseum so we could watch ice hockey and so I could stare at all-star goalie Gerry Cheevers, who was the love of my life.

Even then, I remember thinking that Richfield Village was the place to be. Then when I was in college, I would visit my friends at Kent and on the drive back to Baldwin Wallace, I would purposely drive along state Route 303 to go through Richfield.

Every time I saw a car turn off the highway into the village, I would be jealous because the people in those cars got to live there.

Now I’ve lived in Richfield for 30 years and I get to do wonderful things like spend time in the 336 acres of trails, ravines and waterfalls at the Richfield Heritage Preserve, eat the satisfying chili at Whitey’s Booze N’ Burgers and enjoy pierogies at Olesia’s Taverne of Richfield, which is right by where the Coliseum used to be. So it all comes full circle.

WILLOUGHBY

Beth Gregerson, 55

Lakewood Alex Sheen, 36

Founder of Because I Said I Would

I

F YOU’RE WALKING DOWN THE STREETS OF Lakewood, admiring the old homes with cars parked out front, chances are you might catch a glimpse of a bumper sticker or two with the phrase “Because I said I would.”

Inspired by his late father’s ability to keep promises, Alex Sheen launched his charity and nonprofit out of his Lakewood home — his first ever — in 2012. Drawn to the suburb for its affordable housing and picturesque parks, Sheen has since distributed promise cards to more than 13.5 million people around the world.

“It’s nice to see people in your area, knowing who you are, knowing the meaning of the organization and see that it makes a difference,” says Sheen.

While he still travels nearly 300 days a year for speaking engagements, he’s discovered Lakewood has a strong sense of community and volunteerism.

Even as his own nonprofit grew, inspiring him to open an office in Lakewood, Sheen finds ways to team up with a variety of local volunteer organizations such as H2O, or Help to Others, a servicelearning program run out of Lakewood’s middle school and high school.

“I think it’s good to introduce kids to helping other people,” says Sheen.

Outside of Lakewood’s strong communal nature, it’s the public amenities, such as the courts at Lakewood Park where pickup basketball is common, that keep Sheen close to home when he’s not working.

“I can live anywhere in the world I want just based on what I do, but I thought, Nah, I’d really miss being able to play basketball like that,” says Sheen. “As silly as that sounds, it’s one of the reasons I live here.”

Macedonia

ALEX SHEEN: MATT SHIFFLER / AMY BROWN: SARAH CROSS PHOTOGRAPHY

Amy Brown, 33

Voice-over artist

My husband and I discovered Macedonia entirely by accident when we got lost on the way to Pittsburgh three years ago. We planned our trip to avoid toll roads between our Tremont home and our Pennsylvania destination. The directions took us along state Route 82, which runs right through Macedonia.

All of a sudden, we saw all of these families on all of these soccer fields and it looked like an idyllic part of the world with all of the diversity that we did not grow up with in our respective communities. We both said, “This place is so cool!”

Three months later, we were house-hunting as we were expecting a child, looking for more land, better school districts, proximity to the national park and more diversity. I’m white and my husband is Black, and we wanted our kids to grow up with kids who looked like them.

We found one house that we loved, and then we both realized, “This is that random town with the diversity that we both thought was perfect!”

When I tell people we’re in Macedonia they’re like, “That sounds like a foreign land.”

But that’s cool, you don’t have to move here.

We want to keep it our little secret.

AMHERST

Teresa Gilles, 55 Executive director of Main Street Amherst

NINETEEN YEARS AGO, when I was a stay-at-home mom, I was approached by a business owner to join Main Street Amherst. A year later I was the director.

WESTLAKE

Mary Beth Schneidler, 69 Retired teacher and coach

“There are activities for everybody here. We’ve always had fireworks, picnics, sporting events and baseball tournaments at Clague Park. Now, with Crocker Park and the hundred or so new restaurants, there’s never a lack of something to do. And if you want it to be a quiet time in the park, you can go to the many parks that are here.”

BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP

Donna Lucas, 63 Co-president of the Bainbridge Township Historical Society

“There’s a lot of support for local restaurants. Everyone I’ve spoken to said they’ve been trying to do as much carryout as they could. One of the churches did community meals where they did takeout and people would drive through the parking lot and pick it up once a month for a couple of months. It was to give people a break mentally and to know that there’s someone out there that cares.”

and they’re the perfect team to help make things happen.

way our community can get back out there and help our businesses grow.

MAIN STREET AMHERST became an official Main Street organization in 2002 and we’ve been growing since then.

WE HAVE A BUILDING that is vacant right now but we’re looking to get it filled in the next year. We have a such a historic downtown, so any vacant openings tend to go quick.

OUR ANNUAL WINE AND CHOCOLATE Walk is my favorite part of living in Amherst. My mom went to one of the first wine and chocolate walks 13 years ago and we’ve been hooked as a family since.

AMHERST IS AN INCREDIBLE community that loves working together.

We have great relationships with everyone from the city workers to the school district.

The board is made up of nine volunteers

I’M SO EXCITED TO GET BACK to the “new normal.” Despite the pandemic shutting things down, our main street gained two businesses. I’m excited for things to begin to open back up so that

EVERYONE HELPS EACH OTHER out in our community. After one of our businesses caught fire and was torn down last year, everyone came together to help them. clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

83

Parma Tim DeGeeter, 51 HIGHLAND HEIGHTS

Bernice Barris, 100 Retired registered nurse

“I like this area because of the Cuyahoga County Airport. I was there when it had just one runway and one coffee shop.

My dad used to take me over there in the morning and he would have coffee and I would listen to the pilots talking.”

Mayor

A

S MAYOR OF PARMA SINCE 2012, Tim DeGeeter has more favorite spots than he can name in the suburb he calls home. He is a big fan of the natural oasis of the West Creek Reservation and the visually striking golden domes of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. But the most quintessential Parma location? “Veterans Memorial Park really has it all,” says DeGeeter. The former Ohio House of Representatives member and Parma city council member is quick to list the park’s many features, from the one-mile exercise path to the 22-hole disc golf course to the baseball and softball diamonds where he coached his daughter’s teams and cheered his son on to victory. To help the park live up to its name, a Hometown Heroes program hangs banners on utility poles running through the park featuring veterans and active-duty service members from Parma. But there’s more that makes Parma a local gem, whether it’s residents grabbing ice cream at Honey Hut or gathering under the pavilion for picnics. “When you drive through and see people of all ages engaged in so many different activities,” he says, “you can’t help but smile.”

North Olmsted

Nasreen Starner, 44 Occupational therapist

When most people think about North Olmsted, the Great Northern Mall or the Auto Mile area probably comes to mind.

But what I love most about the city is our incredible Metroparks.

For four years, I served on the North Olmsted Cultural Activities Commission, where we organized juried art shows and music festivals at the Frostville Museum, a historic area in the Metroparks with 19th-century buildings. Our family attends so many other great events there, like the farmers market in the summer.

Nearby is the Rocky River Nature Center, which has amazing educational programs. When my son and daughter were little, the park rangers would lead us on wildlife trail walks or teach the kids how to tap a maple tree and get sap out of it.

Behind the nature center are the Fort Hill Stairs — my favorite place in North Olmsted. You walk up more than 150 stairs and, at the top, it’s the most breathtaking view, especially in the fall when the leaves are changing color. You can look out over the entire reservation.

For years, I would walk my dog in Bradley Woods, just behind my house. I would go every day, rain or shine. Now, with the pandemic, my usual paths through the Metroparks are pretty crowded. But I’m glad that people are getting outside, exploring these hidden gems and discovering what I love most about North Olmsted.

CHAGRIN FALLS

Amy Grant, 31 Human resources manager

“You really can’t go wrong with any of the food here in town. There are incredible restaurants. A personal favorite of mine is Umami.

It’s unique and has a cozy atmosphere.”

WILLOUGHBY HILLS

Thomas Lobe, 66 Lawyer

“Willoughby Hills offers you the best of all worlds, not just both worlds.

It offers you city conveniences with a rural atmosphere. There are neighborhoods, but there isn’t one on top of the other.

It’s neighborhood living, but there are no sidewalks. So you get that rural land, even though you’re in a personal residence.”

CONCORD TOWNSHIP

Lilly Chan, 21 College student

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PAINESVILLE

Ryan Gilkerson, 45 Client relations liaison at CoCreative CLE and on-air personality at WOVU 95.9 FM I’M A BIG ADVOCATE for Painesville.

Whether it be at my job, at CoCreative CLE or as a radio host at WOVU 95.9 FM, I’m always finding ways to let people know about Painesville.

ALONG WITH BEING the public address voice of the Harvey Red Raiders, I also have

PAINESVILLE IS THIS GREAT tapestry of cultures where we’re all coming together to form a community. From the kids up to the grandparents, everyone is proud of our city.

WE HAVE A LOT OF DIVERSITY in Painesville and for some reason that’s been given a negative connotation.

That’s our greatest asset.

PAINESVILLE HAS BEEN a little bit behind in development but that’s

beginning to change. We’re beginning to have people in our downtown, which is going to create a ton of opportunities.

WE MIGHT NOT HAVE the same fanfare as some of the other East Side suburbs, but I think now we’re beginning to judge ourselves on our own metrics.

I’M AT A POINT IN MY LIFE where myself and my friends can mentor the younger generation. It’s incredible to see them begin to love Painesville in their own way.

It’s different from how my generation was, yet that love is still there.

NASREEN STARNER: MATT SHIFFLER

“Concord Community Days is kind of like the family reunion of the town. It’s a giant neighborhood party — there’s fireworks, food, music and it’s just a fun time.

It’s the highlight of the year.”

a company called Ville City Clothing, where we raise money for Painesville’s schools.

SOUTH EUCLID

PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP

Donna Pollard, 35 Founder of the Team Couture Youth Center

Wayne Tecil, 78

“South Euclid has a natural vibe that welcomes everyone. I’ve lived here since I was 1 years old. I’ve seen the community go from predominantly white to a multicultural community to, now, thriving for millennials.”

Retired business owner

“Painesville Township’s fire and rescue system is really good. They have a couple facilities close to us, one probably less than a mile from us. My wife, many years ago, had a heart attack and she had to have a triple bypass. When I called them, they were there on the spot.”

Independence

AVON

Denise Douglas, 50 Dean of social sciences and human services at Lorain County Community College

“Nights at the football stadium, that has always been and always will be my best memories of Avon. It’s just spending time watching kids play on the gridiron on a Friday night, that really is just my favorite memory.”

Lyndhurst Joe Sweeney, 83

Retired fire chief

JOE SWEENEY: THE DARK ROOM CO. / BOB STEC: KAILEY BACA

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OT EVERYONE WHO WORKS for a city opts to live there, too, but when Joe Sweeney started working for the Lyndhurst Fire Department in the late 1960s, he and his wife, Peggy, decided to relocate the family from Cleveland Heights to the community Sweeney served.

“It seemed like a natural fit,” he says.

“The community was young, with a great school system, and we were happy to have our kids able to attend the local schools.” That was more than 50 years ago. Since then, all six Sweeney children have gone through South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools, and though they’ve since moved — with two sons serving other local fire departments — the elder Sweeneys remain in Lyndhurst.

From 1981 to 1998, Sweeney served as fire chief, and he has fond memories of how closely the department interacted with the community, from providing the schools first aid training to participating in Home Days, an opportunity for townspeople to get to know their firefighters on a nonemergency basis by touring the station.

Now retired, he still sees the city’s commitment to service as its biggest asset. “It’s just a wonderful community, really,” says Sweeney. “It has all the nice services and parks, and the city keeps everything up, whether it’s street maintenance or rubbish pickup.”

He and Peggy frequent nearby Lyndhurst Park, which is home to a swimming pool, tennis courts and a senior-friendly community center. After half a century in Lyndhurst, Sweeney is more than happy to stay where he is: “It would be a hard place to move from.”

Brunswick

Bob Stec, 59

Pastor at St. Ambrose Catholic Parish

What brought me here, what keeps me here and what is best about Brunswick is the same thing: there’s a strong sense of family and community. There are just wonderfully, insanely good people that live in this community and we see the outpouring of family values. You see strong families, you see a community that really unites together over and over again. You know, this past week, there was a football player from Heidelberg University who passed away in an ATV accident and you could see the outpouring of care and support. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one so young or just doing something good like a Habitat for Humanity build day, there’s an outpouring of people who want to help. That’s what makes Brunswick such a great place: strong families, strong family values, strong sense of community, genuine, authentic sense of compassion and concern for one other.

While it’s actually a pretty large suburb, it has a very warm, personal, community family feel to it. It’s a rare mix that you don’t see all over the place anymore.

Alexa Marinos, 40 Director of corporate communications at Hyland I grew up in the city of Canton and then lived in Cleveland for nine years, so when my husband and I moved to Independence in 2014, it was the first suburb I’ve ever lived in in my whole life. For years, I’d been writing about city life on my blog, Cleveland’s a Plum, and even though I knew I would adapt to suburban life, it was a huge transition.

Cleveland was my persona — at first, I felt like I was losing a little bit of my identity.

Now, though, we live in a beautiful house built in 1910 that has a huge backyard but is also very close to Rockside Road, which means I can still walk to places like the hardware store and Dairy King. Coming from the city, that was important to me — and to just as easily hop in my car and get to Tremont or back to Canton or my stepdaughter’s school in Summit County. We’re in a perfect location in this southern suburb.

We have access to everything a bigger city has, but there’s also a smalltown feel here. I hadn’t realized we were moving into such a close-knit community. A lot of people are secondor third-generation Independence residents, including some of my neighbors. For that to be the case, clearly the city is doing something right.

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Berea

Angela Brooks, 38 Owner of Mootown Creamery

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“We have this motto: small town, big hearts. It’s just storybook forests and little brooks and gorges and ravines. People move out here to get away from the crowds. And the people, if you ever need them, they’re right there.”

Elyria

Tennyson Thomas, 26

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STRONGSVILLE

Amelia El-Mahdy, 21 Medical school student

MENTOR Toni Grandini, 52

“We have a really good orchestra and band program. That was one thing that I always loved because I was in the orchestra since fifth grade. The parents helped with the program because they are proud of what the students do in high school.”

Teacher

“When I graduated college, I was interviewing everywhere and anywhere and would have been thrilled to get a job as a 22-year-old. I’ve been teaching 31 years.

The families that have touched my life, as well as the lives that I’ve touched, I’ll hold them in my heart forever.”

Factory worker

LYRIA’S PARKS HAVE been with Tennyson Thomas for his entire life. As a kid, Thomas used to spend countless hours with his friends in Elyria’s parks, a tangible example of the city’s sense of community. As Thomas has gotten older, that sense of community has grown stronger.

“Growing up in Elyria taught me a lot about myself,” Thomas says. “I’ve grown up with Elyria in a way. As I’ve transformed and gotten older, the city’s transformed around me.”

Thomas gets a chance to be a part of that community in his job as a factory worker at JB Enterprises, a homegrown Elyria factory that started out of a garage 15 years ago. “JB Enterprises is a lot like me in that we’re both homegrown products,” Thomas says.

With so many other locally owned businesses popping up in Elyria, Thomas is excited to see what the future holds for the city he was born and raised in.

“A new brewery just opened up and we’ve also had some renovations to our downtown,” he says. “There’s a ton of positive momentum around the city.”

Out of all of Elyria’s parks, Cascade Park still stands out as Thomas’ favorite, with its 145 acres serving as the backdrop to so many significant periods of his life. It’s also his favorite because it holds a little secret.

“There are bear caves underneath the waterfall,” Thomas says. “There are no bears there now so it’s just a big cavern.”

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS Lacretta Incorvaia, 47 Co-owner and vice president of Reliable Solutions Group

I FOUND A SMALL AD IN The Plain Dealer of new homes being built in Middleburg Heights in 2005.

We drove into this cute little development. We looked at each other and we immediately knew it just felt like home.

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS IS PRETTY RESILIENT. Somehow, someway, the city has been able to flourish during COVID. They haven’t missed a step.

It’s just really impressive to see.

EVERY TIME WE WOULD SEE someone that was walking, they would always look at us, smile and wave. That’s just how our neighborhood is. I love that.

MAYOR MATT CASTELLI and Chuck Bichara, the director of economic development, have been really gracious with their time. They’ve actually come into the office to learn more about our business and get to know our story.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE TRAILS is the Lake to Lake Trail. It’s just a way to unwind and the dog loves it.

You cross the bridge and you can hear these little toads. A lot of people go there and they’ve got their binoculars and they’re doing bird-watching.

I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO eating at one of our favorite sushi restaurants — Umi. The owner is really personable. It’s just nice to go somewhere and they know your name. She always knows what I want. I love being a regular there.

MATT SHIFFLER

I wanted to do something on my own.

I thought purchasing Mootown Creamery was perfect — not just for me, but also for my children.

I have four daughters and I thought what a great thing that we can do as a family.

They can learn all the things that there is about running a business, while empowering them and teaching them work skills.

Berea has a huge small business population and a lot of us are women owners.

When the pandemic hit, we all linked arms, we worked together, we promoted each other, we came up with different things to try and help each other out.

Berea is a really supportive community with small businesses.

There are small business departments within the city that can help — there are grants available and different programs and things that really help businesses especially if you’re starting out.

A spot that comes to mind is Three Girls Cupcake Shoppe.

They’re located on the Berea Triangle. She’s got some kids as well and her business is relatively new.

She’s got all sorts of delicious treats, sweets and cupcakes.

HINCKLEY

Heather Liccardi, 75 President of the Hinckley Women’s Club

Aurora

Carmen Courtad, 16 High school sophomore

NORTH ROYALTON Holly Michalke, 55 Real estate agent

I’ve lived in Aurora my whole life. On my dad’s side, everyone’s lived in Aurora. How he talks about Aurora and how much it’s changed is really interesting to me, seeing how much the people have changed. The city itself has gotten a lot bigger.

When I was younger, my neighbors and I would do a lot of lemonade stands. We did them once a month in the summer. We had a little picnic table and a few chairs. It was always really fun, making signs and yelling for the cars to come get lemonade and talking and having that connection with other people that I wouldn’t normally see.

Everyone’s always willing to help people and support each other. With my Hoops for Hope fundraiser, everyone supported me during the pandemic. Even people I haven’t heard from in a while contacted me after and said they would want to help in the future.

When an encampment for homeless individuals in Kent burned down, very quickly people in Aurora were so amazing.

We had enough money to repair and buy them new tents and sleeping bags.

“North Royalton has the highest elevation in Cuyahoga County, and we have a lot of hills. It’s very picturesque in a lot of places. It feels like the country.”

BRECKSVILLE

Betsy Coholan, 31 Buyer at Signet Jewelers

“It’s nice that I’m able to be out walking and I always see neighbors. I think I’ve probably gotten a lot closer with my neighbors since the pandemic just because everyone’s around now.”

CHARDON

Freia Ramsey, 45 Owner of Taproot Yoga

Twinsburg

CARMEN COURTAD: MATT SHIFFLER

/ JOANNE SCHAUS: ASHLEY EDWARDS PHOTOGRAPHY

Joanne Schaus, 50 President of Twinsburg City School District Council PTA There are plenty of parks, walking trails and green spaces. Twinsburg is also connected to the Summit County Metro Parks system. We have an outdoor community pool, plus a fitness center, community center, senior center and a thriving youth theater program. These are all things that my family and I enjoy while living here.

It is a great place to raise a family.

The most rewarding thing for me is seeing the leaders of the schools, board members and staff. This year, with all the challenges they had during the pandemic, they continued to show up and care for the kids — even for the students who were virtual.

Brooklyn Greg Liebert, 45

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If there were class parties or activities at the schools, they also delivered party boxes and activity boxes for the kids who were experiencing school virtually.

Everyone made sure the community stayed together and went out of their way with sending and gathering items.

That’s what I mean when I say we have great schools and our community supports our district. Our PTAs are very active and provide so much enrichment for our students and support to our teachers. Our volunteers on the PTA selfishly give their time and energy to provide for and be involved in the schools and our community.

It has been great living in a neighborhood where my kids can ride their bikes and play outside safely.

Twinsburg has always felt like home, and it’s a community that always steps up to help those in need.

IT analyst

REG LIEBERT’S PRIDE FOR BROOKLYN overflows before Friday night football. The Brooklyn City High School marching band commands Biddulph Avenue with a police escort from the high school parking lot to Brooklyn Memorial Stadium in front of residents who cheer them on. “You know when the game is starting and when it’s over because you hear them,” Liebert chuckles. “It’s a tradition that’s uniquely ours and represents the small hometown feel you get living in our city.” As a basketball coach for St. Thomas More School for the last 12 years, Liebert has helped instill values and wisdom in many of the young kids he’s coached. “We’re overlooked sometimes because we’re squished between two big cities,” Liebert says. “But we have a lot to offer. We are all always looking out for someone or their kids.” While Liebert believes the small town provides a lot of kinship, there’s still space for improvement. In the last six years, a new administration has headed the city government. “I’m proud to know that we’re constantly building to strengthen our community,” Liebert says. “We all have differences that are unique and make us special, and that’s what we should highlight more in our city.”

“The Chardon Polka Band plays on the square. You get people of all ages; you see old women dancing and babies.

It’s just so fabulous to have that — that sense of community and connection and having fun together and all different types of people of all different ages.”

SEVEN HILLS

Damon Wynn, 39 Rapid transit mechanic for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

“People will definitely wave to each other in Seven Hills. That was one of the things that took me the longest to get used to. When I get home today, I need to cut my grass, so I’m going to be in the front yard cutting my grass and people are going to drive by and people are going to wave. Where I grew up, people never did that.”

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Bay Village Dave Zastudil, 42

Former Cleveland Browns punter

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FORMER PUNTER FOR THE CLEVELAND BROWNS, Dave Zastudil got his start playing football under the Friday night lights at Bay Memorial Stadium. “I have so many great memories of playing football on that field,” Zastudil says. His parents still live in his childhood home near the high school. “When I left and became an NFL player, I used to go back and train on that field,” he says. “Everything that led to me being a professional athlete — the hard work, the dedication — all revolved around that specific location.” Even with his 13-year NFL career spanning four different teams, Zastudil still made his home in Bay Village with his wife and five children. “Not much has changed in Bay Village since I was a kid,” he says. “People here really care about each other. They care about the town.” One of the things Zastudil loves about Bay Village is the supportive community. That community was on display recently with the Home of the Rockets campaign, where residents raised $1.6 million to construct new buildings for Bay’s student-athletes. “For a small town to come together and raise over a million dollars, that took some time,” he says, “but the community really rallied around that goal.” This fall, Zastudil will be recognized by his hometown when he’s inducted into the Bay Village High School Hall of Fame. “I really appreciate this community,” he says. “It’s a special place to live.”

Garfield Heights

PARMA HEIGHTS

Nichelle Daniels, 43 School board president

Lesley Kiraly-Hosta, 47 House cleaner

My husband and I moved here 15 years ago because Garfield Heights City Schools were known for their special education programs. Our son has done fabulously here, and I have since become president of the school board. Although the school district is 70% Black, 2019 marked the first time in history that the city elected African Americans onto the school board.

As a mom of eight, including five adopted children, I like to say I am raising what our community looks like. Our diverse family resembles our community — Black, white and Native American — and Garfield Heights has been the perfect place to raise our kids.

But COVID highlighted social injustices in our urban school district, from technology gaps to a lack of funding.

Now, our priority is diversity, equity and inclusion. We’re creating a culture that ensures that all students, no matter their race, gender or background, have the same access to education.

I created a nonprofit, Abundant Love Community Outreach, to support families in our inner-ring suburb. During the pandemic, we delivered lunch, books and art activities to help families build strong bonds and combat social isolation.

“The city has recently added a bunch of new signage with the tagline: Community grows here. There’s just a sense that everyone is willing to help. There was a fire a couple of years ago at an apartment complex and I just remember at one of the local businesses everybody could drop off clothes.

After a couple of days, they actually had to tell people to stop because they had too much stuff.”

MAYFIELD VILLAGE

Nella Kamerman, 44 Piano instructor

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SHEFFIELD LAKE

Rosa Gee, 66 Sheffield Lake council member at large SHEFFIELD LAKE HAS A GREAT community center where we’ve been hosting morning coffee with seniors.

While it initially had to be postponed during COVID, we just started back on Monday mornings.

OUR LIBRARY SITS RIGHT ON the lake with big picture windows looking out over the water. The number of things the library does for our community is unbelievable.

EVERYBODY LOVES OUR FIREWORKS on Community Days. They’re the best fireworks around and are always a gorgeous, stunning display.

THE NEIGHBORS ON EACH SIDE of my mom got those dreaded notifications.

The whole community pulled together so tight during that time.

WE HAVE A FANTASTIC LAKEFRONT. Even if you don’t boat or use Jet Skis, just sitting on the swings and looking out over the water is magnificent. It has beautiful sunsets and beautiful sunrises.

IF YOU LIVE IN A CITY, it’s worth coming here just to relax. Sheffield Lake doesn’t have all the congestion and hustle and bustle that you see in big communities.

FOR AS SMALL AS IT IS, Sheffield Lake lost many young men in the Vietnam War. I remember how many times residents would get quiet because they saw a government vehicle pulling into the city.

WE HAVE A GORGEOUS veterans park that was redone a few years back.

It memorializes all the veterans from Sheffield Lake. My family has a lot of veterans, so it’s a nice place to sit and remember.

THE DARK ROOM CO.

“One of my favorite memories is when my oldest child was in third grade, I would go to the library and hunt for that Harry Potter book that just came out. I was really grateful that this library was right here. My daughter still loves to go to the library. We just hang out — that’s one of the few times I get to just talk to her as she’s browsing through the books.”

BROADVIEW HEIGHTS AFTER MY HUSBAND RETIRED, people thought we’d move away to warmer places, like many retirees, but I said, “No, no, no. I love it here too much.”

I’M AN ARTIST and I love looking at the snow scenes — and every season here. There are endless scenes I can paint.

WHEN YOU CHOOSE A CITY, safety is the most important thing.

I work late, and one time, in the middle of the night, an unknown number called me. I was leery, but when I picked it up, someone said, “Are you Mrs. Lai? I’m a policeman.

Your garage door is wide open.”

I was so impressed.

I’LL NEVER GET BORED HERE. There are all kind of things going on.

We have a lovely, large recreation center that really takes care of seniors. I participated in a couple

Mentor-on-the-Lake Brandon Towns, 32 Assistant principal at Collinwood High School

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RANDON TOWNS MOVED TO Mentoron-the-Lake in 2014 with his wife Tristyn, who was returning to her hometown. At the time, he couldn’t imagine the difference he would make in the community — or the impact his new home would have on him.

“Any place is only as good as the people there, and the people in Mentor-on-the-Lake are definitely second to none,” Towns says. “They’re hungry for truth, for justice, yet still humble enough to listen.”

After seeing what was happening in Minnesota in the summer of 2020, Towns organized a Racial Justice Week and petitioned Mentor-onthe-Lake to pass a city resolution condemning

Brook Park

Terry Hudak-Johnson, 61 Information and data processing specialist

THE DARK ROOM CO.

I

F YOU’VE EVER VISITED Brook Park’s City Hall, chances are you’ve met Terry HudakJohnson. As the city’s lone front desk worker, Hudak-Johnson says she’s “on the front lines” when it comes to dealing with visitors to city hall.

“I pretty much handle everything that comes through the front window,” she says. “Whether that’s someone trying to get some snow plowed or someone trying to rent out a park, I’m the first person they meet. I get a real good idea of what’s going on in the community.”

That connection to the community doesn’t stop there, as Hudak-Johnson has spent her life

racism. It was unanimously approved. “There’s a lot of things going on in society that are really hard to stomach,” he says. “But when you can go home and be with people who see you, who care about you, who validate your existence, who protect you and defend you — it recharges you. It keeps you going.”

Towns is now a candidate for Mentor Public Schools’ Board of Education and, if elected, he would be the only member living in Mentor-onthe-Lake. “There are a lot of things we’re doing, even on the school board level, that really have the potential to just do right and stand on the right side of history,” he says.

There’s still work to be done, but Towns is committed to serving the community that helped him feel welcomed, recognized and validated.

“There’s a point when a house becomes a home,” he says. “Mentor-on-the-Lake isn’t just a place where I lay my head — it’s where I lay my heart.” growing up and settling into the Brook Park community. “Brook Park is a real hometown and friendly kind of place,” she says. “Everyone cares for each other.”

Through her job in city hall, Hudak-Johnson has developed a new appreciation for all the amenities that make Brook Park such a desirable place to live. “I get a firsthand look at what it takes to maintain Brook Park,” she says. “I don’t think people realize all the things that go into running the city.”

Despite Brook Park’s population dipping over the past couple years, Hudak-Johnson believes an upswing is on the horizon.

“Houses are going up for sale, and they’re not on the market for longer than a week before they’re sold,” she says. “It really seems like we’re beginning to build ourselves back up.”

Mitzi Lai, 75

Artist

of their field trips to visit very nice, interesting places.

WE HAVE A GREAT MAYOR and our city really takes care of citizens.

In the winter, they always plow the streets quickly — and once, when the city’s snowplow took out our mailbox, they got us a new one in and installed it for us, no problem.

THIS CITY LOVES THE environment . There are programs to tell us how to save rainwater and there’s a city garden where people can rent plots for just a few dollars for the whole season. Sometimes neighbors even give me some of their flowers to paint as still-lifes.

THIS CITY IS A TOP SECRET. To this day, when I tell people we’re in Broadview Heights, they say “Huh?” People know Brecksville and Parma, but they just do not know Broadview Heights.

MAPLE HEIGHTS

LA Phillips, 57 Owner of the Cleaning Angel’s 2 I’VE BEEN IN MAPLE HEIGHTS quite some time. Let’s put it this way: my youngest child is now 33 and she went to elementary school here.

Maple Heights is home.

I LOVE MAPLE HEIGHTS LANES, our bowling alley. It’s not extremely big, but it’s quaint, friendly, family-owned and always a fun time.

I’M NOT A SWEET FANATIC, but I always walk out of Baraona’s Bakery with a white shortbread cookie with a cherry in the center. They know I want one as soon as I walk in.

I HAVE DEFINITELY SEEN Maple Heights struggle over the years, especially with businesses closing up shop. But it feels like things are starting to turn around, which is wonderful to see.

IT IS AN AMAZING FEELING to have a mayor like Annette Blackwell who is working so hard to build our city back up and fill the abandoned buildings.

MY DAUGHTER BOUGHT a home just down the street from me, which speaks volumes about what a great place this is to live.

I CREATED MY CLEANING BUSINESS during the pandemic and people in Maple Heights have been so supportive. I have a lot of clients there now. clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

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Willowick Jennifer Boresz Engelking, 40

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Author

ILLOWICK SHORES are a constant for Jennifer Boresz Engelking. When she watches her kids trek through the sand in search of beach glass and fossils, she is reminded of herself doing the same. “I lived in a neighborhood with a lot of kids. We’d catch lightning bugs and play baseball across the yards, ride around the street,” Engelking says of growing up in Willowick. Engelking remembers going to Walker’s Hardware with her dad and CP’s Cooler for ice cream. Shoregate Town Center, a local shopping area, looks different, but the bread at Alesci’s hasn’t changed. “The smell of the bread baking and everything they have there just takes me back to going there as a kid.” Another place that stayed the same is Rudy’s Quality Meats. “They’ve known my family since seeing my grandma come in, then my parents and now my husband and I go there,” Engelking says. “They remember us. You don’t get that a lot.” Willowick’s Lake Metroparks rescued the Engelking family throughout the pandemic. Lakefront Lodge not only hosts summer concerts, but front-row seats to Lake Erie’s vibrant sunsets — Engelking says the real beauty begins after the sun disappears. Simple gestures like residents filling their windows with teddy bears for kids to spot during the pandemic also lightened the mood. “It was a fun way to give kids something during a rough time,” Engelking says. Hauling bags of rocks — and that extra special beach glass home — Willowick becomes its own treasure for Engelking. “[My kids] love it just as much as I always did.”

FAIRVIEW PARK

Reed Ross, 12

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT Fairview Park is the parks. I like walking my dog, Cosmo, in Bain Park, which is by my house. Morton Park is great, too. It has a splash pad, tennis courts, basketball courts, a picnic area and a huge soccer field. I like to meet my friends there.

I LOVE HOW EVERYTHING’S close together in Fairview Park.

It’s easy for me to walk and ride my bike places.

THIS YEAR, my parents wanted me to do remote learning because of the pandemic. I liked my classes but missed seeing my friends every day. I really hope I get to go back to in-person school next year. (Oh, and my mom said I should mention that I got all A’s.)

I REALLY LIKE GOING to 808

Middle school student

Shave Ice. It’s a snow cone place. I get all different things, but I usually get strawberry and blueberry.

EVERY SUMMER from first through fifth grade I went to camp at the Gemini Center. I made lots of friends and we did really fun activities like dodgeball and swimming. We also took field trips to cool places like Sky Zone. That’s probably my favorite Fairview Park memory.

BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR means you help people when they need help.

OUR HOUSE HAS A BIG picture window in front. A lot of our neighbors have them, too. When I walk down the street, I can see all the dogs sitting on couches looking out the big front windows. And Cosmo can look out ours, too.

Oakwood Village Christopher Callender, 46 WICKLIFFE

Jothany Allison, 57

Telesales associate

“I’ve been in Wickliffe since I was 3. I went through kindergarten, elementary — all my school here. Then I left, went to college and moved away from home for 20-something years and came back. It’s home, there’s nowhere else. I couldn’t move to another city.”

STREETSBORO

Brian Wolf, 53 Owner and operator at Wolf Rock Radio

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T WAS THE MAYOR of Oakwood Village himself who convinced Christopher Callender and his wife, Gina, to move to town.

“We were trying to decide if we were going to build [a home] there when we met Mayor Gary Gottschalk,” says Callender, director of student success at Cleveland Central Catholic High School. “And after talking to him, we knew this was the right place to be.”

Now a resident of nearly 15 years, Callender still loves how welcoming the village feels, with immaculate landscaping and decorative hanging baskets adorning downtown’s Broadway Avenue — leading right to the corporate offices and first commercial location of Petitti Garden Centers, which helps with upkeep.

“The mayor is big on how things look,” Callender says. “It looks beautiful, which helps area businesses thrive.”

In 2014, a city council vacancy opened up for Ward 1, where Callender and his family live.

Neighbors convinced him to apply for the position, which he was appointed to — he has since been elected to the position twice. “It’s great to be able to hear the residents’ needs and try to help them — to be a voice of my community to the administrators at village hall,” Callender says.

He’s particularly proud of a voter registration drive organized last fall, as well as a rally and vigil hosted last summer in the midst of nationwide protests of police brutality. The Oakwood Village Police Department participated in the event, which Callender says is an opportunity unique to such a small community. “It was a chance for people to get to know their law enforcement so we can all feel more comfortable,” he says. “We’re trying to bridge that gap between police and the residents.”

MATT SHIFFLER

“Streetsboro is a wonderful melting pot because when you go into some of the different restaurants here, you’ll find people from both sides — politically and regionally.

They’ll both be sitting at the bar talking and enjoying each other’s company.”

I

Oakwood Village council member

Lorain NORTH RIDGEVILLE

PEPPER PIKE

SAGAMORE HILLS TOWNSHIP

“I find that our street in particular has families of all ages with young children down to empty nesters like ourselves. I think everybody is friendly, and that helps because it’s a city that has vibrancy to it because young people and young families are moving in. I think that’s a huge positive for any suburb.”

“Me and my wife got married in 1958. We have been married for 63 years. We got our first home in Boston Heights and 12 years later we moved here. When we first moved out here, the developments were not here yet. Traffic was light and it’s still not bad — we live away from the main strip. We like the country.”

MORELAND HILLS

WE HAVE VERY CARING and friendly neighbors. When we moved here, we were barely out of our car when our next-door neighbor came over bringing cookies.

squirrels, different types of birds, raccoons, foxes and wild turkeys.

WHEN WE FIRST MOVED HERE, I was leaving all my friends and family behind on the East Coast. We had no relatives here at all and I really felt like our neighbors became our family.

IT’S JUST IDYLLIC HERE. The land is beautiful. We have such beauty, charm and green spaces.

Jerry Armstrong, 65 Employment specialist at Youth Opportunities Unlimited

“We have one of the oldest, longest-running functional drive-in theaters. It has two screens. People come from all around just to go to the drive-in theater. We have a 310acre natural wildlife preserve most people don’t know about — it’s wetlands. It’s a very unique place. It’s rural, yet it’s urban.”

Enid Rosenberg, 73 Community volunteer leader

Ed Galewood, 83 Retired business owner

Bath Township Maia Beatty, 69 Chief reinvention officer at Maia Beatty & Associates

M

AIA BEATTY has definitely seen the world. From her upbringing in the New York metropolitan area, to her years traveling the world while in the U.S. Navy, to her stints living in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, she has a lot of zip codes behind her. Still, she wasn’t sure what to expect when she moved with her husband to Bath Township in 2005.

“We wanted land and found this house that was basically all windows looking at trees,” says Beatty of her home, the only house on her block not facing another house, which greatly pleases the arbor-loving transplant.

As she strolled around Bath Township, the nearby Metro Parks and her beloved Vaughn and Co. hair salon, she found a sense of home in the most unlikely of places. “As soon as I walked into the Colonial Pharmacy, I was treated like I had lived here all of my life,” remembers Beatty.

A locally owned business, Colonial Pharmacy traces its roots back to 1954, when William Kerek — father of current pharmacist Bob Kerek — founded the establishment. Those close-knit ties are ones that Beatty says she can feel when she enters the space.

“Colonial Pharmacy reminds me of the pharmacy I worked at in Poughkeepsie, New York when I was a teenager in 1968,” laughs Beatty. “And that helps make me feel like Bath is home.”

MATT SHIFFLER

Kris Tesar, 72

Retired nurse

I FEEL VERY SAFE and well cared for and we all know to come to each other’s aid when somebody’s sick or needs something.

MY FAMILY ROOM has a big bank of windows that look out into the Forest Ridge Preserve and I watch the wildlife.

I’VE NEVER BEEN SO ATTENTIVE to the squirrels, but we have different types of

I DON’T KNOW HOW many people can look out their back window or sit on their deck and see this parade of wildlife that visits me every day.

I JUST CAME BACK from a visit out to Massachusetts to see my 96-year-old mom on her birthday. Everyone was saying, “Now that your husband is retiring soon and the kids are grown, aren’t you going to come back?” I always thought I would go back but now, I’m not so sure.

Reinaldo Contreras III, 24 Owner of Relic Clothing 3 and RC3 Visuals I’ve always done things differently.

A couple days ago I was sitting in my art studio with my friend. We were talking about how I got here, and I’m still not sure.

Ever since I was young, I’ve always loved fashion, but I also always remember looking at it differently. I used to (and still do) spend hours at the flea market looking through clothes, even before the vintage look was hot.

Being in Lorain pushes me to go 10 times harder. As a kid I made a lot of friends playing Lorain City Youth Baseball, and now I’m out here changing the city with those same friends and we’re going to support each other for a lifetime.

Over the past year I’ve traveled all across the country shooting video and photo, and wherever I go I make sure I’m always representing Lorain in some way.

Right now, I’m dirty. I’m in the dirt working on my clothing and making sure that my photo studio in downtown Lorain is ready to open.

By the time the summer ends I’m trying to be out of the dirt and go back to fully being an entrepreneur by going out and networking and meeting people.

Lorain taught me that work ethic. No matter what I’m doing, I’m always going to be hustling for my city.

clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

91

Avon Lake Mikayla Hyland, 27 Tattoo artist

92

C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

Grant coordinator

MILY HAMPSHIRE HOLODY and her husband, Jonathan, grew up in Peninsula before moving to Cleveland for graduate school at Cleveland State University.

For 12 years, they lived off West 65th Street. Holody thought they would live there forever, until one day her husband took a job as director of planning and development for the city of Euclid.

“He brought me here and I saw the lakefront and the rest is history,” says Holody. “I fell in love.”

For the last seven years, her family has lived in a Tudor house with the

lakefront nearby and the beach club their family joined across the street.

“Some of the neighborhoods have beach clubs that date all the way back to the ’40s and ’50s,” Holody says. “Our four daughters love it and just love being on the water.”

The family first joined East Shore United Methodist Church in 2013, where Holody runs community meals on Wednesdays. Then, last summer, when George Floyd was killed, ministers and a few members of the church gathered together to organize a rally for change in the community.

E

Holody, who felt drawn to the energy of the community, became more involved in organizing around social justice issues, voter registration and COVID-19 testing. Those community activities led her to become president of her church group, Faith In The City.

“I like Euclid for a number of reasons. You get both the suburban and urban feeling,” Holody says. “It’s not a far drive from downtown and with all the changes and development happening in the city, it feels as though we are all working to make it a better community and place for all.”

EAST CLEVELAND

Nathaniel Martin, 70 East Cleveland council member at large I’VE LEARNED A LOT about East Cleveland living here. One thing for sure is that it’s always the people, their spirit of the city, that makes it great.

WE HAVE PEOPLE that have lived here for 30, 40 and 50 years. They are the ones that have so much hope for the city of East Cleveland. They remember when East Cleveland was a zenith. The city has such great potential.

RIGHT NEXT DOOR we have University Circle, the museums, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. The HealthLine runs every 7 to 9 minutes.

WHAT PEOPLE DON’T KNOW IS that you can get on the rapid transit near Woodmere and Superior and you can go just about anywhere in the world.

WHEN I’M TRAVELING, whether it’s for city business, Washington, D.C., wherever, I can walk to the rapid from where I live. It takes me to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and I can go anywhere.

PEOPLE DON’T HAVE a lot of faith in the city and sometimes only see the negative, but I can tell you the people are full of hope, constantly inspiring me and my work.

Cuyahoga Falls

Debbie Ziccardi, 53

Social worker

One of my favorite stories about Cuyahoga Falls is just how giving and kind people are in the community. I had an unfortunate incident where Christmas gifts for my children, as well as some placards and letters I used to put on our sign in front of the school, were stolen from my car.

At the time, I was serving as the vice president of the local PTA for my kid’s

schools. When they found out what happened, the school, the parents and the PTA all chipped in and replaced everything that was in my car.

That people took the time and heard the story and were just very kind and generous to us, it reinforced the reason why I chose to live in the community. All those things are what I had in mind when it comes to raising my family. We moved to our first home in 1991 and never left.

Our government is also open to local input. They implemented a neighborhood

ambassador program where anyone in the community can join and get updates about new programs and initiatives rolling out in our city.

As part of the program, I feel very comfortable and confident that I can approach, call, email and reach out to any one of our local officials, and they’re very responsive.

It was one of the things I noticed and admired when I ran for city council three years ago. We really build on any ideas brought forth from the citizens.

THE DARK ROOM CO.

The thing I love most about Avon Lake is its sense of community. There’s so much generosity, caring and love in Avon Lake.

I first moved here in third grade, and my family was not affluent. I can’t tell you how many times one of my friend’s parents paid for me to attend summer camp or do an activity we couldn’t afford.

In 2016, I lost both my mom and brother, something I didn’t expect to deal with as a 22-year-old.

But people in this community — people I didn’t even know — helped me and made sure the funeral expenses were paid.

Now, I’m inspired to make an impact, too. I returned to Avon Lake as a wife, mother and business owner because I wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to me.

A lot of my clients are local breast cancer survivors, so I offer 3D nipple and areola tattoos. Last October, I organized a fundraiser and, even in the middle of a pandemic, this community came together to raise more than $3,000 for Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio. It was amazing.

Living in Avon Lake has impacted me in ways that will stay with me for the rest of my life. This place has taught me that communities can make a difference.

Euclid Emily Hampshire Holody, 41

Eastlake Biljana Abel, 40

CEO of the Equus Group

EASTLAKE IS “a small but mighty city,” says Biljana Abel.

In November 1999, Abel immigrated to Eastlake from Germany as a Bosnian refugee with her family at the age of 18. The adjustments were plenty, but Abel describes a city with open arms.

“We felt almost like we went back home somewhere,” Abel says.

Eastlake’s Croatian residents eased the transition, but Abel remembers the personal touch of the broader community, too.

“Even, at the time, the mayor of Eastlake stopped by my uncle’s house where we first moved to say hello to us,” Abel says. “You would never receive something like that in a big city.”

When her mother’s tailor shop, Fashion in Style, opened in 2002, the mayor was also one of their first customers.

During her time as a student at North High School, Abel remembers her teachers, particularly Mickey Steigerwald, who helped her navigate applying for college.

“You wonder, Will I be able to go?

Can I achieve my American dream?”

Abel says. “[She was] a really great reason for me actually getting into college right after high school.”

When the pandemic hit, Abel’s mom kept the tailor shop open. Last April, Fashion in Style produced more than 2,000 masks — about 20% of which they donated to Lake County school districts. Community support made it possible.

“People came to buy masks to help pay for her business,” says Abel. “That was pretty incredible.”

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS

OLMSTED FALLS

WE HAVE COME to the community a couple of different times over the course of my career to pass levies to support the school. I know that it’s a great sacrifice every time the community passes a levy, because their taxes go up.

I’VE LIVED IN OLMSTED FALLS since I was 3, went to Olmsted Falls High School and even got to be the mascot. Go Bulldogs!

Leatrice Clark, 53

Biology teacher

ONE OF THE THINGS that I noticed about the people who live here for a long period of time is they shop in Cleveland Heights. If they live in Cleveland Heights, they shop here, they go to the restaurants here, they go to the hardware store here.

THE FOOD IS AMAZING. From The Fairmount to Stone Oven — their fresh bakery is amazing. I have to limit myself.

THE DARK ROOM CO.

THE KIDS ARE really diverse. And they’re really inclusive. In some of my classes, they would come and sit in each other’s lap and just talk. It’s just a real family feel.

I FEEL LIKE IT’S A RESULT of the community because we have so many parents who are adoptive parents and they have adopted children of a different ethnicity. And they welcome all kids into their home.

WHAT I’VE FOUND in my 30 years of working in Cleveland Heights and being a patron to many of the businesses, it is a very inclusive and inviting community.

Emily Sheetz, 24

Graduate student

GRAND PACIFIC JUNCTION IS basically our downtown. I love going in and out of the restored historic shops, getting a scoop of vegan cookies-and-cream at Falls Ice Cream and a cup of tea at Clementine’s.

BEWARE OF THE TRAINS. There’s a main track that goes through downtown with no underpass or overpass to get around it. You can definitely be sitting there for a bit.

THE HUMMUS AND GYROS at the Sunoco really are as good as everyone says. Don’t let the fact that it’s a gas station fool you.

THE CHICKEN MARSALA at Matteo’s Italian Restaurant is one of the best dishes around.

DURING PROM TIME OF YEAR, there is a line of people to take their picture at the bridge in David Fortier Park. My friends and I went against the grain and opted instead for a random gazebo.

OLMSTED FALLS USED TO HAVE a Strickland’s Frozen Custard where they let my mom be an employee for a day for her birthday one year. She had absolutely the best day.

HUDSON

Kate Schlademan, 45 Owner of the Learned Owl Book Shop

“Not only do I get to experience Hudson as a resident, but as a business owner. Being able to take over a longstanding business that has such great community support was really fortunate for me.”

OLMSTED TOWNSHIP Lori Long, 52 College professor

“Many years ago there were lots of townships around the edges of Cuyahoga County and we’re the last one in the county limits. The thing about townships is the governance is a little different.

We can do a bonfire in our backyard, so there’s something to township living that feels a little bit more country.”

ORANGE VILLAGE

VaLencia Lescook, 45 Student success coordinator at Lake Erie International High School “When I first moved here, the mayor took me on a tour of city hall. Orange is one of those small communities where people know each other by name and I totally, totally fell in love with my community.”

RICHMOND HEIGHTS

Kim Thomas, 56 Richmond Heights council member

“It’s quiet here in Richmond Heights.

I live on a cul-desac. We had good neighbors who looked out for each other for 26 years. This is what a community really looks like. When you look in a dictionary, you would see Richmond Heights under community.”

clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

93

94

Overall value added**†

AP/IB courses offered

Seniors taking AP/IB courses

Seniors passing AP/IB courses

National Merit Finalists (F) / Commended (C)*

Languages

Dropout prevention programs

Nonathletic extracurriculars

Sports

169.8

242.2

81.9%

96.0%

97.3%

95.9%

97.9

A

11

10.2

7.7%

1/2

2

3

14

16

Aurora

15

16.7

24.0

21

164.6

181.7

261.0

168.6

180.1

276.9

90.1%

97.3%

99.2%

96.6%

103.9

A

24

59.8

42.0%

4/2

3

3

25

14

Avon

12

18.8

23.6

23

185.4

176.3

268.4

172.1

178.6

269.7

89.7%

97.2%

99.1%

97.0%

105.4

A

21

43.8

37.2%

3/4

4

4

35

17

Avon Lake

8

16.8

25.3

23

191.8

175.5

268.5

173.2

174.1

266.2

89.9%

96.7%

96.9%

96.6%

104.5

B

24

69.5

52.1%

3/9

3

5

31

17

Bay Village

7

14.6

24.6

23

190.2

194.3

288.1

174.5

182.1

274.4

91.3%

98.0%

99.5%

96.7%

107.7

B

21

58.2

48.6%

3/8

2

4

28

15

Beachwood

2

11.8

23.9

23

188.8

179.8

277.1

190.4

176.8

258.1

91.7%

100.0%

98.3%

96.4%

108.5

A

28

71.2

50.8%

3/6

4

4

26

15

(out of 120)†

Attendance 2019-20

Performance Index Score 2018-19

(Class of ’18)

161.3

5-year graduation rate

(Class of ’19)

248.6

4-year graduation rate

159.5

End-of-course tests

165.9

(out of 300)†

16

(out of 200)†

23.6

(out of 200)†

19.3

(out of 300)†

(average % at or above proficient)†

8th-grade achievement tests score

7th-grade achievement tests score

6th-grade achievement tests score

5th-grade achievement tests score

State standards met**

32

(out of 200)†

Average ACT score

4th-grade achievement tests score

Student-teacher ratio*

Amherst

Community

(out of 200)†

Rank

3rd-grade achievement tests score

C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

Education Stats 2021

F/C

Bedford

47

13.9

17.0

2

102.3

102.8

152.6

67.2

88.1

122.3

55.3%

87.4%

91.5%

94.9%

70.9

F

10

16.0

7.4%

0/0

3

5

39

14

Berea

33

14.8

24.1

6

149.0

146.8

201.2

112.9

122.1

164.6

72.4%

91.8%

94.6%

95.0%

85.1

C

13

21.2

16.4%

0/3

4

4

41

15

Brecksville-Broadview Heights

10

17.3

25.6

23

183.8

184.3

274.2

177.8

188.0

263.5

95.0%

95.4%

97.1%

96.8%

108.1

B

29

55.3

45.7%

6/8

3

3

41

16

Brooklyn

48

7.5

19.0

2

101.1

126.1

144.3

90.6

98.3

165.2

69.9%

95.2%

94.2%

94.8%

79.0

B

6

5.4

5.4%

0/0

2

3

16

9

Brunswick

31

17.2

21.8

11

160.6

159.9

232.7

152.8

151.4

201.4

78.3%

97.2%

98.4%

96.2%

94.2

F

16

36.6

24.9%

1/3

4

4

21

16

Chagrin Falls

4

13.9

26.4

23

192.8

195.4

270.1

175.7

182.1

247.2

96.5%

96.0%

96.2%

96.7%

109.2

A

28

72.7

65.6%

4/9

4

3

25

15

Chardon

28

16.6

22.6

20

187.6

182.9

250.4

156.0

172.8

245.3

82.6%

95.5%

95.6%

95.8%

101.8

B

17

37.4

28.7%

2/3

2

4

22

14

Cleveland HeightsUniversity Heights

44

12.7

19.8

1

116.2

123.8

168.7

92.2

74.5

129.0

55.2%

89.6%

90.7%

94.2%

75.2

F

16

36.3

15.7%

1/1

3

4

39

15

Cuyahoga Falls

42

14.7

20.0

4

148.1

151.6

218.6

105.0

116.7

171.3

67.8%

91.0%

92.5%

94.7%

87.3

F

21

15.6

10.5%

2/0

3

3

28

14

Cuyahoga Heights

25

13.8

23.0

22

165.3

163.9

275.0

178.2

181.9

262.6

92.4%

94.4%

98.5%

96.8%

104.8

A

14

40.0

29.1%

0/0

1

1

17

13

East Cleveland

55

11.2

14.0

0

79.3

67.5

65.3

56.7

37.2

69.6

26.4%

79.2%

78.8%

90.8%

55.3

F

4

29.0

8.40%

0/0

2

4

18

6

Elyria

49

13.7

18.0

1

103.5

100.6

173.2

93.4

98.5

138.0

56.3%

85.7%

91.1%

94.0%

74.7

F

11

8.9

3.2%

0/0

2

2

23

14

Euclid

57

14.4

17.1

0

92.4

99.3

136.1

62.4

58.0

85.8

49.8%

71.8%

76.8%

92.2%

63.9

F

1

0.0

0.0%

0/0

2

0

9

11

Fairview Park

40

13.8

N/A

9

161.5

163.8

211.2

119.7

139.1

192.4

77.8%

92.0%

92.3%

96.8%

90.3

F

13

41.0

28.7%

0/0

2

4

20

14

Garfield Heights

56

13.9

15.2

1

85.8

106.7

109.6

56.3

53.3

68.0

43.0%

90.8%

92.3%

93.3%

63.4

F

3

5.6

3.5%

0/0

2

3

13

12

Highland

14

19.5

23.9

23

185.8

185.9

272.3

176.2

173.3

252.8

90.7%

98.5%

98.9%

96.5%

105.3

A

22

43.2

36.5%

0/4

4

3

28

16

Hudson

3

15.2

26.1

22

184.0

180.0

270.2

173.7

188.6

251.6

92.6%

96.3%

97.7%

96.8%

105.1

B

25

57.5

47.5%

8/9

6

4

44

20

Independence

26

13.2

25.6

20

185.5

175.0

278.5

156.0

171.2

251.8

88.7%

98.9%

98.9%

96.8%

102.2

B

10

33.7

25.6%

0/2

2

2

15

11

Kenston

9

14.2

25.2

23

180.4

180.6

256.9

176.5

187.0

262.7

92.3%

96.3%

99.2%

97.0%

104.8

B

27

46.7

37.3%

2/8

3

4

31

19

Kirtland

30

16.4

22.8

17

174.4

162.9

253.8

151.9

152.4

247.3

89.1%

97.3%

98.0%

96.7%

99.0

C

14

44.7

33.0%

0/2

2

4

16

14

Lakewood

29

14.1

23.3

7

151.7

159.7

223.4

148.6

140.4

227.7

77.8%

89.4%

91.3%

95.5%

94.3

B

17

37.0

30.2%

2/3

4

5

44

17

Lorain

51

13.8

16.6

0

91.2

94.8

112.7

46.5

60.5

112.1

41.6%

77.4%

81.1%

90.3%

64.5

F

2

9.0

0.5%

1/0

3

4

21

12

Maple Heights

50

17.6

14.2

1

82.2

81.5

111.8

74.1

73.5

102.7

42.5%

92.8%

94.9%

92.7%

64.8

D

4

0.0

N/A

0/0

3

5

20

9

Mayfield

20

13.7

23.4

15

166.1

170.3

219.1

137.6

153.9

203.7

83.0%

95.4%

96.5%

95.4%

94.9

B

28

51.7

39.9%

0/0

3

4

32

15

Medina

18

15.6

23.1

12

161.3

164.1

243.5

151.0

162.0

229.9

82.1%

97.4%

97.0%

95.6%

96.6

A

18

62.7

42.7%

5/3

5

4

25

16

Mentor

19

16.2

20.7

14

167.4

170.2

233.6

140.9

155.1

211.0

81.7%

94.9%

95.3%

96.0%

95.6

B

25

72.8

N/A

4/9

5

4

40

16

Nordonia Hills

23

15.8

20.3

15

160.0

186.3

253.6

159.7

158.5

229.6

82.4%

96.3%

98.0%

96.7%

98.4

B

23

44.0

32.8%

0/0

3

5

22

15

North Olmsted

38

16.6

21.0

4

150.0

136.0

209.1

116.2

142.6

216.5

71.4%

93.6%

96.0%

94.3%

88.5

F

16

25.9

17.4%

1/0

3

4

26

15

North Ridgeville

35

16.4

N/A

7

133.6

158.5

228.9

124.8

151.2

202.6

77.1%

92.1%

95.1%

95.7%

91.4

B

14

33.0

22.7%

0/0

4

5

19

16

North Royalton

27

18.1

22.2

21

179.4

181.1

253.3

165.8

160.2

259.4

86.7%

96.4%

97.4%

96.4%

102.1

B

15

24.2

19.2%

3/1

3

4

26

14

Olmsted Falls

22

16.7

22.3

18

174.6

175.0

255.5

144.6

159.7

244.8

86.5%

97.9%

97.9%

96.5%

100.0

F

12

37.6

31.4%

1/2

3

4

34

17

Orange

6

12.0

25.3

23

181.0

189.8

260.8

171.7

155.5

267.5

89.0%

100.0%

98.8%

96.4%

105.4

A

24

39.9

35.8%

1/2

5

5

48

17

Painesville

53

14.6

16.5

1

107.3

91.6

129.9

47.6

78.3

109.5

45.6%

81.6%

84.1%

93.8%

66.8

F

9

19.9

5.0%

0/0

2

3

16

11

Parma

37

15.3

23.0

3

138.6

143.4

200.1

117.3

111.5

181.8

66.4%

86.4%

92.3%

95.1%

84.6

F

21

25.6

16.0%

0/1

3

4

30

14

Revere

13

16.1

25.5

24

174.9

187.9

258.5

169.9

180.4

267.1

89.8%

95.6%

98.1%

96.8%

105.1

B

18

36.1

32.6%

8/4

3

2

26

13

Richmond Heights

54

13.2

17.0

2

99.0

111.8

130.1

49.5

55.0

123.6

61.0%

90.6%

87.3%

94.9%

69.1

F

3

1.8

0.0%

0/0

2

3

12

6

Riverside

39

19.1

22.5

9

161.9

158.8

243.3

140.6

153.8

212.7

70.6%

88.2%

90.3%

96.1%

92.6

F

12

14.5

10.0%

1/0

2

5

27

14

Rocky River

5

15.5

24.5

24

185.7

191.5

283.0

180.2

187.3

274.1

93.8%

99.1%

99.5%

96.9%

109.4

A

18

49.8

43.8%

5/4

3

4

48

19

Shaker Heights

17

13.3

24.0

4

157.6

154.8

200.7

122.5

129.1

171.4

73.4%

94.2%

96.1%

96.4%

89.1

F

78

59.0

49.9% 9 / 10

6

4

70

25

Sheffield-Sheffield Lake

41

14.9

24.0

6

156.7

161.9

216.9

128.8

158.3

194.9

71.1%

95.8%

96.4%

95.5%

90.9

F

2

15.4

6.6%

0/0

2

3

16

11

Solon

clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

1

16.2

24.9

24

194.8

193.7

293.8

190.4

189.2

280.3

95.0%

98.2%

99.5%

97.0%

112.6

A

29

71.1

67.0% 19 / 19

4

5

51

16

South Euclid Lyndhurst

46

14.1

18.5

3

132.5

112.1

188.4

91.8

91.4

116.4

57.3%

88.9%

91.6%

95.5%

76.3

F

14

14.5

8.0%

0/1

3

3

30

15

Stow-Munroe Falls

34

18.1

21.5

7

149.4

158.4

198.6

125.9

153.8

186.0

68.8%

93.7%

96.8%

96.1%

89.7

F

20

32.4

26.2%

0/0

3

4

21

17

Streetsboro

43

16.4

21.5

9

131.9

149.7

220.2

108.4

156.2

201.6

76.1%

94.1%

91.4%

96.0%

89.1

B

8

32.2

18.7%

0/0

2

3

16

11

Strongsville

24

16.6

22.3

16

174

166.4

242.9

161.8

161.4

245.7

89.0%

93.6%

96.9%

96.2%

99.9

A

25

37.6

29.3%

2/4

3

3

24

16

95

Twinsburg

16

17.1

24.1

19

178.7

173.3

245.6

158.2

170.0

254.3

84.1%

97.5%

99.7%

96.6%

100.5

B

19

49.8

40.9%

5/3

4

3

36

15

Warrensville Heights

52

12.0

14.6

2

138.4

126.4

123.9

56.9

60.3

76.1

43.2%

84.2%

92.9%

93.6%

67.9

A

4

15.2

0.0%

0/0

2

3

11

8

West Geauga

21

16.3

22.0

20

182.5

176.2

247.6

139.3

174.4

258.9

92.8%

96.7%

96.9%

96.2%

104.3

A

19

32.9

26.3%

1/1

3

5

18

15

Westlake

11

14.8

23.6

23

176.2

182.0

257.7

167.6

172.0

254.0

85.8%

96.5%

95.7%

96.6%

103.1

A

21

54.1

54.1%

4 / 10

4

4

39

18

Wickliffe

36

13.9

20.0

4

144.0

154.5

193.6

107.5

129.4

238.2

71.0%

96.6%

92.5%

95.1%

88.2

B

8

82.1

41.1%

0/0

2

4

14

12

Willoughby-Eastlake

45

15.1

19.6

1

145.2

145.3

188.9

115.9

132.2

176.9

73.4%

91.8%

93.4%

95.6%

87.4

B

17

5.7

5.6%

1/5

2

3

23

13

*These categories were not used to calculate rankings. **See pg. 79 for explanation of standards met and overall value added. †Information for these categories are from the academic year 2018-2019. See pg. 79 for explanation.

Safety Stats 2021 Assault

Burglary

Larceny/Theft

Vehicle Theft

Arson

Violent/1,000

Nonviolent/1,000

Full-time officers*

Auxiliary officers*

Part-time officers*

Rape

0

0

3

16

4

25

0

0

12,108

1.57

2.40

2

25

3

17

0

0

0

10

1

138

1

0

16,026

0.62

8.74

6

28

1

Avon

32

0

2

3

50

13

99

11

0

22,999

2.39

5.35

0

41

0

Avon Lake

4

0

0

0

8

11

54

5

0

24,030

0.33

2.91

6

30

0

Bainbridge Twp.

40

0

2

1

12

9

241

3

0

11,459

1.31

22.08

0

22

0

Bath Twp.

14

0

0

1

7

3

55

0

0

9,657

0.83

6.01

1

23

0

Bay Village

20

0

3

0

13

15

66

17

0

15,325

1.04

6.39

1

23

20

Beachwood

74

0

3

7

74

15

455

20

0

11,663

7.20

42.01

9

46

0

Bedford

46

2

0

5

25

11

105

38

0

12,631

2.53

12.19

0

33

21

Population

Murder

18

Aurora

Agg. Robbery

Rank

Amherst

Community

Bedford Heights

55

3

1

7

25

17

116

38

1

10,565

3.41

16.28

0

27

3

Berea

54

0

4

13

117

19

72

14

0

18,788

7.13

5.59

2

30

5

Brecksville

6

0

1

0

1

6

57

5

0

13,537

0.15

5.02

3

29

0

Broadview Heights

11

0

0

1

16

3

52

17

0

19,195

0.89

3.75

0

31

0

Brook Park

62

0

5

5

56

20

285

40

1

8,617

3.55

18.59

0

37

11

Brooklyn

68

0

2

8

43

16

520

41

1

10,773

4.92

53.65

0

33

19

Brunswick

25

1

5

1

40

23

145

28

0

34,781

1.35

5.64

5

40

0

Chagrin Falls

15

0

0

0

0

0

43

9

0

4,032

0.00

12.90

5

13

6

Chardon

59

0

0

2

11

5

113

4

2

5,167

2.52

24.00

6

9

0

Chester Twp.

24

0

0

0

10

8

87

2

0

10,289

0.97

9.43

1

15

1

Cleveland Heights

56

6

9

19

138

63

404

78

8

44,571

3.86

12.41

0

97

0

Concord Twp.

12

2

0

0

6

11

124

6

1

18,144

0.44

7.83

2

31

0

Cuyahoga Falls

71

1

14

6

350

99

830

33

0

49,192

7.54

19.56

0

72

18

East Cleveland

72

19

30

39

80

74

113

105

13

17,200

9.77

17.73

49

4

0

Eastlake

61

0

7

11

65

11

235

18

0

18,156

4.57

14.54

29

25

18

Elyria

66

4

23

33

793

187

216

62

3

53,821

15.85

8.70

0

81

7

Euclid

75

6

23

64

501

177

631

227

5

47,159

12.60

22.05

0

91

0

Fairview Park

42

0

0

3

47

7

115

4

1

16,303

3.07

7.79

0

27

20

Garfield Heights

73

4

22

24

192

52

653

94

6

27,814

8.70

28.94

0

50

20

Highland Heights

26

0

0

2

5

1

109

6

0

8,390

0.83

13.83

2

24

4

Hinckley Twp.

19

0

6

0

2

7

48

1

2

7,967

1.00

7.28

1

13

0

Hudson

16

0

2

0

11

6

142

3

1

22,263

0.58

6.83

0

30

4

Independence

63

0

3

5

19

1

129

18

0

7,169

3.77

20.64

1

31

0

Kirtland

27

0

1

1

11

2

19

1

0

6,822

1.91

3.22

3

12

0

Lakewood

64

1

9

30

225

62

601

91

3

50,259

5.27

15.06

7

94

20

Lorain

69

9

43

75

323

104

1,185

104

16

63,801

7.05

22.08

0

97

0

Lyndhurst

52

1

4

6

39

9

129

22

1

13,533

3.69

11.90

2

29

8

Macedonia

33

0

2

2

10

1

135

8

0

11,873

1.18

12.13

0

24

0

Maple Heights

76

1

4

44

191

93

537

122

3

22,383

10.72

33.73

3

32

19

Mayfield Heights

44

0

0

6

28

7

315

26

0

18,669

1.82

18.64

2

37

20

96

C L E V E L A N D / June 2021

*These categories were not used to calculate rankings.

Violent/1,000

Nonviolent/1,000

Part-time officers*

0

29

1

0

3,372

1.48

8.90

5

19

6

126

18

212

7

0

26,069

5.29

9.09

1

38

0

Mentor

47

0

15

6

73

42

581

65

5

47,096

2.00

14.71

6

78

0

Mentor-on-the-Lake

43

1

3

1

17

6

57

1

0

7,391

2.98

8.66

12

9

0

Middleburg Heights

13

1

1

2

7

6

73

20

0

15,573

0.71

6.36

0

32

0

Moreland Hills

5

0

0

0

1

0

10

0

0

3,306

0.30

3.02

3

15

0

North Olmsted

49

0

7

9

56

36

426

44

2

31,710

2.27

16.02

0

48

20

North Ridgeville

21

0

2

0

50

24

71

11

1

33,427

1.56

3.20

0

40

0

North Royalton

35

0

2

1

61

11

161

14

0

30,252

2.12

6.15

0

35

11

Oakwood Village

39

0

1

0

6

1

36

0

0

3,668

1.91

10.09

5

16

1

Olmsted Falls

3

0

1

0

1

2

16

3

0

8,883

0.23

2.36

9

10

0

Olmsted Twp.

28

0

1

0

24

8

57

2

0

13,422

1.86

4.99

15

5

0

Orange Village

53

0

0

2

10

4

27

5

0

3,276

3.66

10.99

2

17

0

Painesville

48

1

3

9

39

41

189

24

3

19,845

2.62

12.95

11

42

0

Painesville Twp.

37

0

2

3

28

18

201

15

2

20,313

1.62

11.62

4

33

0

Parma

60

0

29

28

374

117

562

105

9

79,091

5.45

10.03

0

111

24

Parma Heights

9

0

5

2

9

14

59

10

1

20,045

0.80

4.19

0

28

2

Pepper Pike

7

0

0

0

3

5

31

5

0

6,269

0.48

6.54

0

17

0

Richfield Village

1

0

0

0

0

0

29

2

0

3,650

0.00

3.16

4

18

0

Auxiliary officers*

Arson

5

2

Full-time officers*

Vehicle Theft

0

8

Population

Agg. Robbery

0

2

Larceny/Theft

Rape

0

57

Burglary

Murder

31

Medina

Assault

Rank

Mayfield Village

Community

Richmond Heights

65

1

2

6

42

18

120

17

2

10,406

4.90

15.09

3

23

13

Rocky River

38

0

2

2

23

18

264

10

0

20,198

1.34

14.46

0

36

11

Sagamore Hills Twp.

2

0

0

0

2

1

2

1

0

10,920

0.18

0.37

7

11

0

Seven Hills

8

0

1

1

4

9

39

12

0

11,638

0.52

5.16

3

17

0

Shaker Heights

23

1

6

6

15

36

110

31

3

27,387

1.02

6.57

0

63

0

Sheffield Lake

50

0

4

0

37

16

41

0

0

8,968

4.57

6.36

4

11

0

Solon

22

0

2

1

20

15

149

12

1

22,947

1.00

7.71

0

47

14

South Euclid

77

0

7

21

271

38

445

36

0

21,572

13.86

24.06

2

40

3

Stow

41

0

8

4

44

46

446

9

0

34,776

1.61

14.41

0

42

10

Streetsboro

29

0

0

1

18

13

158

12

0

16,406

1.16

11.15

0

27

0

Strongsville

34

0

1

3

47

29

543

18

2

44,719

1.14

13.24

0

68

0

Twinsburg

10

0

0

3

12

3

69

16

1

18,707

0.80

4.76

1

35

0

University Heights

67

0

5

13

96

15

120

26

1

13,025

8.75

12.44

0

30

9

Warrensville Heights

70

5

13

11

56

29

200

63

1

13,203

6.44

22.19

0

27

0

Westlake

36

0

4

5

47

28

237

44

1

32,275

1.74

9.60

6

35

21

Wickliffe

51

0

3

2

30

6

162

15

0

12,743

2.75

14.36

4

30

6

Willoughby

45

0

4

5

90

22

67

49

2

22,869

4.33

6.12

24

44

0

Willoughby Hills

58

0

5

10

23

4

95

13

9

9,527

3.99

12.70

9

21

0

Willowick

30

0

0

3

24

14

17

24

0

14,133

1.91

3.89

0

21

0

clevelandmagazine.com / C L E V E L A N D

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